R&D in Agriculture

• Return on Investment: The Economic Survey (2021-22) explicitly highlighted the correlation between spending on agri-R&D and agricultural growth. Every rupee spent on agri-R&D yields much better returns (11.2), compared to returns on every rupee spent on fertilizer subsidy (0.88), power subsidy (0.79), etc.
• Food Security: R&D helps in the development of high-yielding crops and thus achieve food security.
• Climate Smart Crops: R&D can help create climate-smart crops that can survive extreme climate. 
• Help Small Farmers: R&D is helpful in the Indian context as it can help to create new technologies designed to help small and marginal farmers.

Bodies

• Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR): ICAR is an autonomous organization for co-ordinating and guiding research & education in agriculture, including animal sciences, horticulture and fisheries in the country.
• State Agricultural Universities (like Punjab Agricultural University) are dedicated to the development of agricultural technologies.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK)

KVKs are the institutions at the district level aimed at

1. On-farm testing to assess the adaptability of new agricultural technologies
2. Frontline Demonstrations of the latest agricultural technologies to the farmers
3. Provide Advisory Services on various aspects like cropping patterns, pest control, post-harvest technology, etc.
4. Production of good quality seeds & planting materials for distribution to the farmers.

R&D in Agriculture is facing problems in India because

1. Lack of Funds

• The private sector doesn’t contribute much investment in agriculture research, and government funding for R&D is decreasing considerably. This funding needs to be increased. 
• Allocation for agri-R&D in Budget 2021 was just Rs 8,514 crore. It is even lower than that of a single private global company like Bayer, whose annual spending on agri-R&D is almost Rs 20,000 crore.

2. Problem with ICAR

• The problem with ICAR is that a single body plays several roles, from education to research to extension. Hence, it has become the jack of all trades but the master of none.  

3. Problem with Agriculture Universities

• The agriculture universities have been plagued & not able to do much because of
  • Resource crunch
  • Difficulty in attracting talented faculty
  • Limited linkages and collaborations with international counterparts
  • Weakening of the lab-to-land connect
  • Lack of innovation

4. Low-Quality Research

• The R&D sector is suffering from ‘technology fatigue’, i.e., no innovative invention has been done by the scientific community in the previous two decades.

5. Cereal Centric Research

• Indian agriculture research has become too much ‘cereal-centric’. Instead, Indian farmers must focus on pulses, oilseeds, horticulture and animal husbandry.