India is set to significantly enhance its agricultural research capabilities by establishing five new modern seed breeding facilities across the country. This initiative aims to speed up the development of advanced seed varieties that are high-yielding and resistant to diseases. Senior government officials shared this news, highlighting a major step forward for Indian agriculture.
Currently, India has two such facilities at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) centres. The plan is to increase this number to seven by the end of the current financial year. These new facilities will use cutting-edge seed breeding technology. This technology involves creating controlled environments where conditions like temperature, light, and day length can be precisely managed. This allows for faster processing and development of seeds compared to traditional farming methods.
The process of seed development involves several stages, known as ‘generations.’ By using controlled environments, researchers can grow multiple generations of crops in a single year. In natural conditions, this is often limited to just one or two generations due to seasonal constraints. This accelerated process can shorten the time it takes to develop a new seed variety by 2-3 years, reducing the current cycle from six years down to potentially three years.
This advancement is crucial for quickly introducing improved crop varieties to farmers. “The reduction in the breeding cycle will allow researchers to quickly develop a new variety. This advancement will expedite the development of high-yielding, disease-resistant, and quality crop varieties, making them available to farmers more quickly,” stated Mangi Lal Jat, secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and director general of ICAR.
The new facilities will be set up at various ICAR institutes, including the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur, the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) in Hyderabad, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi, the Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (IIAB) in Ranchi, and the Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR) in Ludhiana. Some centres will focus on specific crops, while others will support research across multiple crops. The investment for each centre is estimated to be between ₹2 crore and ₹12 crore, depending on its size and the facilities provided.
These facilities are expected to allow for up to four crop generations per year. This means that a new variety, which traditionally might take 8-10 years to develop and release, could be ready in 3-4 years. This will ensure that improved varieties, including those developed through genome editing or hybridisation, reach farmers much faster.
“With the help of technology, the breeding cycle will be reduced to two to three years from six years presently, which will ensure that genome-edited varieties or hybrid varieties reach the fields much earlier,” explained D.K. Yadav, deputy director general (crop science) at ICAR, Delhi. Research facilities at the Indian Institute of Mustard Research in Bharatpur and the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) in Karnal are already operational, with more set to begin soon.
“By enabling multiple crop generations each year, these centres will fast-track the delivery of high-yielding, climate-resilient seed varieties. For farmers, this means quicker access to improved seeds that can withstand pests, diseases, and erratic weather, leading to better yields and more secure incomes,” said Ajai Rana, chairman of the Federation of Seed Industry of India.
Between 2014 and 2024, India’s agricultural research system developed over 2,900 improved crop varieties. These include varieties for cereals, oilseeds, pulses, fibre crops, and more. Agriculture is a vital sector for India, contributing about 16% to the country’s GDP and supporting over 46% of the population. These new seed breeding facilities are expected to boost productivity and improve the financial well-being of farmers, especially in the face of climate change and unpredictable weather patterns affecting agriculture.