Trilochan Mohapatra, Director- General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), has said that research work on genome editing, speed breeding and marker-associated breeding will be conducted to break the intrinsic yield barriers of energy-rich oilseed crops.

Addressing the two-day meet on oilseed sector here on Friday, he said the focus should be on a healthy oil consumption to the extent of 6 kg per head per year. There was a need to have a long-term strategy to reduce the edible oil import bill.

“The move to set up 36 seed hubs for meeting the quality seed supply is a significant step towards achieving higher oilseeds production,” he said.

He felt that there was a need to make further value addition in castor to increase export of castor products.

A Vishnuvardhan Reddy, Director of Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research (ICAR-IIOR), said the country depended on imports of vegetable oil for over 60 per cent of its requirements (about 15 million tonnes worth ₹69,000 crore). A bulk of it was palm oil.”

ICAR MoU with ASCI

Meanwhile, the ICAR and Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for more effective cooperation in the field of training.

Trilochan Mohapatra, who is also Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, and SK Pattanayak, Director General of ASCI, signed the MoU at a separate meet held at NAARM (National Academy of Agricultural Research Management) at Rajendranagar.

The MoU calls for collaboration, enhanced reach in terms of number of research institutions covered and bringing the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) into the fold, to share knowledge and research outcomes.

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