The CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) in Hyderabad now has a working third annex campus at Bommaipalli village in Telangana's Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, and has used it for its first scientist-farmer meet and seed distribution programme.
The 50-acre site is partly used to grow what the laboratory calls Super Rice varieties: rice lines that are more resistant to infections and pests and that tolerate high soil salinity and low soil phosphorus. The varieties were developed jointly with the ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR-IIRR).
More than 150 farmers received seed of the jointly developed rice at the event, which aimed to get improved varieties into farmers' fields and link research with the farming community. District officials, agriculture officers, local representatives and more than 100 CCMB scientists and staff attended.
Hitendra K. Patel, Chief Scientist at CSIR-CCMB, explained the varieties' traits and their potential benefits, especially for people prone to diabetes, and stressed the need to turn research into products that reach farmers. Additional Collector A. Bhaskar Rao urged farmers to adopt climate-resilient, high-yielding and diabetic-friendly varieties that can withstand changing weather.
CCMB director Vinay K. Nandicoori said that expanding research at the campus could create new opportunities around Bhongir and support the region's development. Organisers said the meeting also let scientists hear directly about the problems farmers face in the field. The report was written by M Somasekhar for Rural Voice.
Photo: Dhananjaya.karre / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Rural Voice
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