NRRI celebrated 72nd Foundation Day and KisanMela
The ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, one of the premier Research Institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi observed its “72nd Foundation Day and KisanMela” on 23rd April, 2018.
Dr. TrilochanMohapatra, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR, Govt. of India, New Delhi graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Speaking on the auspicious occasion, Dr. Mohapatra emphasized the necessity to accelerate the efforts for realization of the goal set by the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi to double farmers‘ income by 2022. He said that ICAR has released recently bio-fortified crops to fight against malnutrition. He briefed about the agricultural policies and strategies of Govt. of India for upliftment of the income of farming communities. He urged the Directors of ICAR institutes to integrate different stakeholders and adopt some villages for actual realization of doubling farmers‘ income. He stressed the need to hold frequent interaction meetings among the state govt. machineries and other stakeholdersforrealization of doubling farmers‘ income. He stressed upon the slogan given by Hon’ble PM ‘Per Drop More Crop’ for effective utilization of water. At the same time, he urged the farming community to adopt crop diversification for more income.
Dr. A.K. Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticulture & Crop Science), ICAR, New Delhi graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour and in his address he appreciated the contribution made by the Institute towards the country for becoming self-sufficient in rice production. He suggested the judicious use of recommended dose of fertilizers for cost reduction.
Dr. Himashu Pathak, Director of the institute highlighted the significant achievements of the institute specially recently released varieties and their suitability for different ecologies. Further, he advised farmers to adopt other latest NRRI technologies to tackle the problems in rice cultivation.
Prof. P.B. Kirti, Professor, Department of Plant Science, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Telengana delivered the Foundation Day Lecture on the topic “Towards Enhancement of Water Use Efficiency” in Rice” in the morning to the scientific community.
The programme was attended by over two hundred farmers and farmwomen from Odisha, Assam and Jharkhand. During the occasion, an exhibition was also organized showcasing the technologies of NRRI, OUAT, other ICAR institutes, KVKs, Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) and agri-input dealers. The chief guest felicitated six retired scientists, 11 best workers of the institute, five best students and five Swachhata Awardees. Further, 22 progressive farmers and farmwomen of Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha were awarded for adoption of innovative practices in rice farming. In the beginning, Dr. P. Samal, Co-Chairman of the programme welcomed the guests and dignitaries and at the end, Dr. Lipi Das, Organizing Secretary of the programme offered a vote of thanks.
Special programmes like field visit of farmers, Inauguration of new Social Science building, Scientist- farmer interaction were organized during this occasion. Cultural events in the evening were organized for the staff of the institute. In the evening programme, children, research scholars and staff who won different competitions organized on the occasion of the foundation day were awarded with certificates and prizes by the Director of the Institute.