New Delhi: India will release a commemorative coin of Rs. 75 on the occasion of 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on October 16, 2020 to mark the long-standing relation of India with FAO.
India has had a historic association with FAO. Indian Civil Service Officer Dr. Binay Ranjan Sen was the Director General of FAO during 1956-1967. The World Food Programme, which has won the Nobel Peace Prize 2020, was established during his time. India’s proposals for the International Year of Pulses in 2016 and the International Year of Millets 2023 have also been endorsed by FAO.
To mark the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also dedicate to the Nation 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of 8 crops. These 17 varieties of 8 crops will have up to 3.0-fold increase in nutritional value.
“The rice variety CR Dhan 315 has high zinc; wheat variety HI 1633 is rich in protein, iron and zinc, HD 3298 is rich in protein and iron and DBW 303 and DDW 48 are rich in protein in wheat; Ladhowal Quality Protein Maize Hybrid 1, 2 and 3 are rich in lysine and tryptophan; CFMV1 and 2 of finger millet are rich in calcium, iron and zinc; CLMV1 of little Millet is rich in iron and zinc; Pusa Mustard 32 is with low erucic acid; Girnar 4 and 5 of groundnut are with enhanced oleic acid and yam variety Sri Neelima and DA 340 are with enhanced zinc, iron and anthocyanin content,” the Prime Minister’s Office informed today. It stated that these varieties were developed by utilizing the local landraces and farmer’s varieties. The high zinc rice has been developed from landraces of Assam rice collected from Garo hills and those of finger millets from Gujarat collections of Dang district.
There was only one biofortified variety developed prior to 2014, but 53 such varieties were developed during the last five years by the National Agricultural Research System under the leadership of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The government further informed that the production of bio-fortified crop varieties will be upscaled and linked with government programmes of mid-day meal, Anganwadi to reduce malnutrition and make India Kuposhan Mukta through naturally enriched food ingredients. “This will also usher in higher income of farmers and will open new avenues of entrepreneurship development,” the PMO stated.
It may be mentioned that malnutrition is a global problem with two billion people suffering from micronutrient deficiency. Nearly 45% of deaths among children are linked to malnutrition. Appropriately, it is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. India has rolled out an ambitious POSHAN Abhiyaan targeting over 100 million people with the aim to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anaemia, and low birth weight. Aligning with the international priority, the development of nutritionally rich varieties of crops with elevated levels of micronutrients iron, zinc, calcium, total protein, quality of protein with high lysine and tryptophan, anthocyanin, provitamin A, and oleic acid, and reduced level of anti-nutritional factors has been accorded top priority by the government.
– globalbihari bureau
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