b'low, near 100,000 tons yearly, while exports have grown steadily,as two to three years. This means new varieties can reach farmers making Brazil a net exporter since 2017/18. The 2023/24 harvest sawmuch faster.exports of about 150,000 tonsa 22% increase from a decade ago. The reduction in breeding cycles will enable researchers to The study also noted that self-consumption is significantquickly deliver high-yielding, disease-resistant, and high-qual-among small-scale producers, particularly for coloured beans.ity crop varieties to farmers, said Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary, Methodological considerations highlighted that some farms mayDepartment of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and produce both coloured and black beans, meaning the reportedDirector General, ICAR.number of bean-producing establishments (about 550,000) couldThe planned facilities will be located at ICAR institutes such be slightly overstated due to double counting. as the Central Institute for Cotton Research (Nagpur), Indian Institute of Rice Research (Hyderabad), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (New Delhi), Indian Institute of Agricultural STATUS INDIA Biotechnology (Ranchi), and Indian Institute of Maize Research (Ludhiana). Some centres will focus on specific crops, while others India plans to set up five state-of-the-art seed breeding facilitieswill support multiple crops. Investments per facility will range nationwide to boost advanced research and develop high-yielding,between 2 crore and 12 crore.disease-resistant crop varieties, senior government officials toldExisting facilities at the Indian Institute of Mustard Research Mint. This will expand the countrys capacity from the existing(Bharatpur) and the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute two facilities at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)(Karnal) are already operational, with others set to launch soon.centres to seven by the end of this fiscal year. Between 2014 and 2024, Indias National Agricultural Seed breeding technology creates controlled environmentalResearch System developed 2,900 improved varieties and hybrids conditionsadjusting temperature, light intensity, and day lengthacross cereals, oilseeds, pulses, fibre crops, forage crops, sugarcane,to accelerate crop development. This process allows research- and others. With agriculture contributing about 16% to Indias ers to produce multiple generations of seeds in a year, significantlyGDP and supporting 46.1% of the population, these new facili-shortening the breeding cycle compared to conventional methods. ties are expected to significantly enhance productivity and farm Known as generation multiplication, this process appliesincomes, helping farmers adapt to climate change and weather var-to crops such as wheat, rice, cotton, soybean, millets, maize, andiability. (Source: MENAFN) mustard. Under controlled conditions, researchers can achieve four generations annually rather than the typical one or two, cutting the breeding cycle by two to three yearsfrom six years to as little NOVEMBER 2025|SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 39'