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Dearth Of Wheat Breeders May Dampen India's Agri-Growth
April 28, 2009
Dearth Of Wheat Breeders May Dampen India's Agri-Growth
- The Press Trust of India , April 27, 2009
New Delhi - Acute shortage of agri-scientists specialising in wheat breeding may dampen the country's agricultural growth amid the growing threat of climate change on food security, a leading farm scientist has warned.
Jag Shoran, Project Director at the Directorate of Wheat Research, said, "There is a dearth of wheat breeders in India to produce high-yielding varieties to help feed a rapidly growing population while at the same time dealing with climate change." "It is unfortunate that India, being the world's second-largest wheat producer, has hardly 240 wheat breeders. It has declined drastically from the 400-plus in the 1960s during the Green Revolution," he said.
Wheat-breeders' job involves conducting extensive field research to understand the genetics of the wheat crop to develop new varieties that are higher-yielding, resistant to pests and diseases, drought-resistant or regionally adapted to different environments and growing conditions.
"Agriculture being low on priority of university graduates, too few young talents are interested in plant breeding. Moreover, lack of public funding for research and fewer job avenues are discouraging students to take up this profession," Shoran noted.
With an exceptionally good yield this year, India is estimated to harvest a bumper crop of over 78 million tonnes. Yet, wheat productivity is 55 per cent of China's and 40 per cent of Egypt's total production. There exists tremendous potential for India to enhance productivity and address growing global food needs, experts said. Echoing similar sentiments, US-based agronomist Ed Runge said, "Since the main challenges for crop scientists are climate change and developing more drought-tolerant varieties, this requires a more innovative approach to plant breeding and molecular genetics".
Plant breeding is now more complex than during the Green Revolution, when numerous new varieties were developed that achieved major production and yield increases, he said.
"India has to do more to adapt to changing climatic conditions. It is going to be difficult without wheat-breeding expertise," he said, adding that in view of such talent shortage Monsanto's Beeachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program is going to play a key role in establishing a talent pool of wheat breeders.
Experts also pointed that the government needs to incentivise the plant-breeding programe to solve the problem of estimated 14 million tonnes of food shortage by 2017 in the country.
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