The ICAR-Indian Institute of Rapeseed-Mustard Research (IIRMR) at Bharatpur has signed a memorandum of agreement with Abhimanyu Seeds Pvt. Ltd. for the non-exclusive licensing of hybrid seed production and marketing of the Indian mustard hybrid NRCHB-506 — a step, the institute says, towards wider commercialisation and dissemination of improved rapeseed-mustard technologies.

The agreement was signed by Dr Vijay Veer Singh, director of ICAR-IIRMR, and Dr Rajendra Kumar, head of research and development at Abhimanyu Seeds, Hapur, on behalf of their organisations.

Dr Singh stressed the importance of taking promising technologies and improved mustard hybrids from research laboratories to farmers' fields through public–private partnership and technology commercialisation, and said that wider availability and adoption of high-yielding hybrids such as NRCHB-506 can lift productivity and strengthen the rapeseed-mustard production system.

Increasing the area under improved varieties and hybrids, together with the availability of quality seed and appropriate production technologies, can make a significant contribution to domestic oilseed production and to the national goal of self-sufficiency in edible oils, he said.

The licence is meant to expand production and marketing of quality NRCHB-506 seed and so improve farmers' access to improved planting material; Abhimanyu Seeds committed to ethical production, quality assurance and responsible distribution so that seed reaches farmers on time. The institute describes the collaboration as strengthening the research–industry–farmer link and translating its innovations into field-level impact for the edible-oil sector.

Source: ICAR