Biotech KISAN Programme

Subject: Governance

Context: Recently, a Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has issued a Special Call for North East Region as a part of its Biotech KISAN Programme.

Concept:

It aims to understand the local problems of the NER farmers and provide scientific solutions to those problems.
It will focus on the North East Region as it is predominantly agrarian with 70% of its workforce engaged in agriculture and allied sector for livelihood.
The NER produces merely 1.5 per cent of country‘s food grain and continues to be a net importer of food grains even for its domestic consumption.
The NER has untapped potential to enhance the income of the farming population by promotion of location specific crops, horticultural and plantation crops, fisheries and livestock production.

About Biotech KISAN Programme

It is Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network (Biotech-KISAN).
It is a scientist-farmer partnership scheme launched in 2017 for agriculture innovation.
It is a Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology initiative that empowers farmers, especially women farmers.
It is a Pan-India program, following a hub-and spoke model and stimulates entrepreneurship and innovation in farmers and empowers women.
It has been established at Foundation for Agricultural Resources Management and Environmental Remediation (FARMER), Ghaziabad.

Significance of Biotech KISAN Programme

Under this scheme, so far 146 Biotech-KISAN Hubs have been established covering all 15 agro-climatic zones and 110 Aspirational Districts in the country.
It has benefitted over two lakhs farmers so far by increasing their agriculture output and income.
It aims to understand the problems of water, soil, seed and market faced by the farmers and provide simple solutions to them.
It is expected to fulfil the technology requirement to generate agriculture and bio-resource related jobs and better livelihood ensuring biotechnological benefits to small and marginal farmers.