Agri Minister seeks tougher laws on fake seeds, pesticides; aims to reach 100 million farmers with ICAR technologies
Chouhan announced several key objectives: establishing 100 Climate Friendly Villages, disseminating ICAR technologies to 100 million farmers, launching ‘One Institute-One Major Innovation’, creating an ICAR Open Digital Knowledge Platform, tightening laws against fake seeds and pesticides, and making ICAR financially self-sufficient through commercialization of innovation and technology.
Describing the partnership between farmers and scientists, Chouhan said, “If farmers are the soul of agriculture, scientists are its brain. Miracles happen in our fields only when government policy, farmers’ hard work and scientific talent work together.”
Chouhan warned against complacency and said the next phase of agricultural growth must follow “Quality over Quantity” to improve public health and enhance global competitiveness. Addressing the risks of El Niño and climate change, he called for faster action on climate-resilient farming, region-specific plans and agricultural risk management. It also set a target for ICAR and its institutes to develop at least 100 Climate Smart Villages before ICAR’s 100th anniversary.
Chouhan has set a 2-year target for each ICAR institute to deliver a breakthrough under ‘One Institute-One Big Innovation’, which includes a new crop variety, vaccine, digital tool or a climate-smart solution with national impact. He also said that ICAR should reach 100 million farmers with its technologies by its centenary and said this is an important step towards Viksit Krishi and Samruddh Kisan in Viksit Bharat 2047.
Strict legal action against fake seeds and pesticides
The Union Agriculture Minister has called for stricter legal action against fake seeds and pesticides, citing widespread farmers’ complaints about fake and substandard agricultural inputs. He called on scientists to develop simple, field-level diagnostic tools that would allow farmers to quickly verify the quality of seeds and pesticides, helping to prevent fraud and minimize crop losses.
Chouhan also asked ICAR to reduce its dependence on government funding by commercializing its technologies, product lines, vaccines and licensing initiatives. It has set a target of achieving internal revenue of Rs 10,000 billion by 2029, while also ensuring continued government support as the institution moves towards greater financial self-reliance through innovation.
During the Foundation Day celebrations, ICAR released 14 publications with 43 new crop varieties, 17 technologies and products, including high-yielding and disease-resistant crop varieties, nutrient-rich crops, livestock and fisheries vaccines, and digital farming solutions.
Agriculture Minister Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Panchayati Raj SP Singh Baghel also spoke at the event.
ICAR, DARE & DG Secretary Dr. ML Jat shared key achievements and roadmap for research, innovation, education and extension in 2025-26. He said higher production in crops, horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries added around Rs 1.70 lakh billion to the economy this year, while agricultural research alone contributed around Rs 55,000 Lakh and showed strong returns from investments in agricultural science.
