All in one

A national phytotron facility, the first of its
kind In Asia, was inaugurated by the director
general of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO), Jacques Diouf, at the
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI),
in New Delhi on May 7. India is the fourth
country in the world, after Australia, Canada
and the US, to have this facility.

This facility is a joint effort of the
FAO, the United Nations Development Programme, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the department of science
and technology. Built at a cost of Rs 15 crore,
this controlled environment research
facility overcomes environmental constraints like seasons and locations and
facilitates the faster development of better
varieties and efficient crop management
programmes, particularly in the rain-fed
and other low yield areas. The national
phytotron facility at the IARI consists of a
core facility of 22 degree C, humidity, light and
carbon dioxide controlled chambers, backed
by 10 greenhouses.

In his address, the agriculture minister,
Chaturanan Mishra, criticised the current
trend of intellectual property rights
over developed plant varieties and reiterated India's commitment for South-
South cooperation, offering the phytotron
facilities to neighbouring countries.
Speaking at a press conference, Diouf
complimented India's progress in the agricultural front and emphasised the power of science and technology and the merits
of a UN-FAO developing country collaboration. He did not think that population was a major hurdle in the path towards
achieving food security. "Water is a major
input and yet it is wasted due to inappropriate harnessing. If proper policies are adopted, then achieving food security
even in a country like Africa will not be
impossible," he said.