National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed the region specific, high yielding and climate resilient varieties of different crops including pulses. Since 2014, total of 369 varieties of 14 pulse crops have been released and notified in the country including 24 varieties of seven pulse crops viz., chickpea (6), fieldpea (6), pigeon pea (5), fababean (3), mungbean (2), urdbean (1) and lentil (1) for Bihar upto September, 2023.

Number of steps has been taken to make seeds of new improved varieties available to farmers for cultivation at the earliest which include:

(i) Production and supply of breeder seed of improved varieties seed. During past five years, 15.60 lakh q breeder seed of pulses was produced and supplied by ICAR to different public and private sector seed production agencies for downstream multiplication of foundation and certified seed.

(ii) Established of 150 Pulses Seed hubs and 12 centres for enhancing breeder seed production in 2016 which have produced and supplied 7.09 lakhs quality seed and 21713 q breeder seed during 2016-17 to 2022-23.

(iii) Total 1587.74 lakh q quality seed was produced involving 6.39 lakh villages

(iv) training of 98.07 lakhs farmers during 2014-23 under seed village scheme for making quality seed available at village level.

(v) Distribution of seeds of new high yielding varieties through 6000 Front Line Demonstrations and 151873 Cluster Front Line Demonstrations of pulses during 2018-19 to 2022-23.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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