The Value Addition, Research & Development (VARD) - Agriculture is one of the pioneering departments of NIF dedicated to incubating agricultural innovations and sustainability across India. Adopting creativity, harnessing traditional knowledge and local ingenuity to address pressing agricultural challenges, the department serves as a keystone for transforming grassroots innovations into viable agricultural solutions. The department undertakes a wide array of activities aimed at improving agricultural productivity, enhancing crop resilience, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Key activities of the department include the meticulous scientific documentation and validation of grassroots innovations in agriculture, ensuring these practices are scientifically sound and economically feasible. This involves rigorous field trials, laboratory testing, and collaboration with research institutes to validate the efficacy and scalability of these innovations. By integrating traditional knowledge with scientific research, VARD - Agriculture develops low-cost, high-impact agricultural technologies and solutions tailored to the diverse agro-climatic conditions of India that can enhance farmers' incomes and sustainability.

Also, the VARD Agriculture Department facilitates the intellectual property protection of grassroots innovations, providing innovators with the necessary legal support to patent their technologies and register the plant varieties developed at the PPVFRA. By organizing workshops, training programs, and awareness campaigns, the department empowers farmers with knowledge and tools to adopt and adapt innovative technologies, driving a wave of agricultural transformation across the country. Through its comprehensive approach, this Department is instrumental in bridging the gap between rural ingenuity and contemporary agricultural advancement.

AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS

No Title Innovator/Community Concerned Laboratory/Institution Sanctioned Date Duration Status/Remark

AGRICULTURAL PATENTS

Sr. Innovator's Name/ Community Innovation Title State From Application Number Priority Date Current Status Filed Through Date Of Grant

PPV & FRA

Sr. Innovator's Name Denomination Scientific Name Common Name State Application No Priority Date Current Status Filed Through Date Of Grant

PUBLICATIONS

Singh, S., Dave, P. P., Sethiya, N. K., & Choudhary, H. (2024). Plant-derivatives for the management of Earias vittella (Fabricius) (Nolidae: Lepidoptera): Current status, challenges, and future prospects. Journal of Natural Pesticide Research, 10. 100100.

Singh, S., Dave, P. P., & Choudhary, H. (2024). Botanical compositions for the management of sucking and lepidopteran pest of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under field conditions. Biopesticide International, 20(1), 65-67. 

Choudhary, H., Singh, S., Choudhary, S. K., & Parvez, N.(2024). Farmers' participatory extension research for dissemination of Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. variety-Sulkhaniya Bajra in India. Agricultural Science Digest'. 44 (3), 428-433

Choudhary, H., Dave, P. P., Parvez, N., Chodvadiya, M. B., Ritaparna, P., Khuman, L. Y., Ipe ,C. & Sahu, L. (2023). Comparative assessment of farmer's brinjal variety in different agro-climatic conditions. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 13(2), 115-125.

Kumar, N., Dave, P. P., Mir, P. A., Zulapi, L., & Choudhary, H. (2022). Dissemination of elite brinjal variety-hzkb-1 under organic cultivation in Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir through farmers' participation. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 12(12), 1202-1207.

Choudhary, H., Dave, P. P., Parvez, N., Raghuvanshi, P. S., Lal, B., Singh, S., Rathore, R., Singh, R., K., Zulapi, R.,& Verma, A. (2022). Assessing the performance of farmers' wheat (Triticum aestivum l.) varieties for yield and its attributing traits under organic cultivation. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 44(12), 48-55.

Parvez, N., Choudhary, H., Shinde, V. V., More, V. G., Kudtarkar, U. S., Gabhale, L. K., Dhane, A.,S., Gangawane, S., B., Maru1, B., Ghole,S., V., & Pisore, B. N. (2020). Performance evaluation of farmers' onion varieties against purple blotch disease. Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, 38, 52-62.

Dave, P. P., Singh, S., Chodvadiya, M. B., & Choudhary, H. (2020). Bioefficacy of crude polyherbal formulations against hoppers (Insecta: Hemiptera) of rice. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 8(6), 1392-1398.

Parvez, N., Choudhary, H., Parihar, S., Gandhi, K., Singh, S., Rathore, R.,R.,Zulapi.,B.,Kasva, R., Kumar, R., Raghuvanshi & Verma, A. (2019). Profiling of nutritional traits in indigenous wheat cultivars.  Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, 7(1),1-11

Chodvadiya, M. B., Singh, S., & Choudhary, H. (2018). Adoption of remunerative farmers' developed varieties of rice: case studies from odisha and chhattisgarh states of India. Agricultural Science Digest, 38(3), 166-171.

Ravikumar, R. K., Thakur, D., Choudhary, H., Kumar, V., Kinhekar, A. S., Garg, T., Ponnusamy, K., Bhojne, G.R., Shetty,V.M.,& Kumar, V. (2017). Social engineering of societal knowledge in livestock science: Can we be more empathetic?. Veterinary World, 10(1), 86.

Parihar, S., Parvez, N., & Choudhary, H. (2017). Kudrat revolution: A series of improved crop varieties. Rashtriya Krishi (English), 97-102.

Choudhary, H., Singh, S., Parvez, N., Rathod, R.,& Raghuvanshi,P., S., (2016). Performance of farmers pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan L. MILLSP.] varieties: Opportunities for sustained productivity and dissemination of varieties. International Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 8(61), 3471-3474.

Choudhary, H. , Ravikumar, R. K., & Kumar, V. (2016). Assessing behaviour of farmers in linking to village institution: Dairy society’s perspective from semiarid regions, Gujarat, India. Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences   4(Spl 2-SSPN), 9-16.

Chodvadiya, M. B., Singh, S., Choudhary, H., Parvez, N., Ravikumar, R. K., & Khobragade, D. R. (2016). On-farm trials of farmer's variety: tool for performance evaluation and adoption of variety in new areas. International Journal of Advanced Research, 4(11), 1703-1712.

Ravikumar, R. K., Vivek, K., Hardev, C., Kinhekar, A. S., & Vipin, K. (2015). Efficacy of indigenous polyherbal ectoparasiticide formulation against hard tick infestation in cattle (Bos indicus). Ruminant Science, 4(1), 43-47.

Ravikumar, R. K., Choudhary, H., & Kumar, V. (2015). Means for retaining farming communities in semi-arid regions of Gujarat state. Agriculture Update, 10(2), 158- 163.

Singh, P. K., Kumar, V., Maurya, N., Choudhary, H., Kumar, V., & Gupta, A. K. (2014). Grassroots solutions to overcome abiotic and biotic environmental stress in agriculture. In Translational research in environmental and occupational stress (pp. 11-16). New Delhi: Springer India.

ACTIVITIES

The Research Advisory Committee (Agriculture) meeting was conducted at India International Center, New Delhi in hybrid mode. The committee reviewed a total of 12 projects (new project proposals, progress of ongoing and completed) and provided their valuable inputs, suggestions and recommendations to strengthening the R&D activities on GRIs in the field of Agriculture

Innovators from Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, and Haryana presented nine improved plant varieties in NIF workshop at Delhi. Discussions covered technical merits, business opportunities, and challenges in distribution. NIF pledged to address logistical issues, enhance packaging, and expand online marketplace access, aiming to increase awareness and create new business opportunities for these innovative plant varieties

NIF participated as a knowledge partner in the National Convention on 'Grassroots Innovations and Innovators in Transforming the Agri-Food System,' organized by Bihar Agricultural University, Bihar, during August 4-5, 2024.