Director-General, Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Trilochan Mohapatra has said that in the coming years, private investment and public-private-partnership model would be the way forward if the farm sector were to achieve the goals of increased productivity and for India to accomplish complete nutrition security.
Replying to a specific question about the controversy over genetically-modified crops and a mention of the seed major Monsanto, he minced no words saying that when the company had invested on research and developed a product, it was natural for it to expect return on investment.
“In general, we recommend reduction of area under cotton considering the rainfall of a particular region, but the ultimate objective of Government of India was to reach a stage when cost of seed is brought within the reach of the farmer. A significant challenge before the scientific community and administrators in the country is ensuring more productivity while bringing down cost of cultivation,” he said, on the sidelines of a meeting at the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management.
