eChapters

Introduction

Agriculture is the main occupation in India which engages nearly 119 million of farmers and 144 million landless labourers (Census 2011). According to the Agriculture Census (2012), about 80 per cent of Indian farmers fall under the small and marginal category. The average size of land holding in India is 1.15 ha which will tend to decrease in coming years due to land fragmentation, industrialization and urbanization which are forcing farmers to quit farming and look for more viable livelihood options (Bhattacharyya et al. 2018). Specially small and marginal farmers are exposed to high risk of farming due to climate vagaries, uncertainties in production and market demand, lack of access to support services and markets, limited scope of farm mechanization and the consistent failure of half-hearted government efforts which have been unable to make farming an exciting profession to the old as well as new generations. In Indian context, agriculture has never been a profession for the literate section of the society due to lower production and profitability. NSSO report (2012-13), in alignment with the current scenario, says 40 per cent farmers want to quit agriculture if they get alternatives.

Owing to several biotic and abiotic stresses, the problem of agrarian distress in India has accentuated in recent years. Government of India has taken initiative in its annual budget of 2016-17 and initiate a number of steps to alleviate agrarian distress and improve the situation before the fight for food security faces disastrous challenge from mass migration of Indian farmers to other occupations. The steps taken by the Government of India are improving irrigation efficiency, providing crop insurance, improving market infrastructure and its efficiency, promoting organic farming, restoring soil health and so on.

Introduction

Owing to several biotic and abiotic stresses, the problem of agrarian distress in India has accentuated in recent years. The Indian government set a target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022–2023 in its annual budget for 2016–17 and started a number of initiatives to achieve this goal, including better irrigation efficiency, crop insurance, market infrastructure improvements, organic farming promotion, soil health restoration, and others. The pathway for doubling of farmers’ income encompasses several dimensions, from production to post-harvest management. These include: bridging yield gap, crop diversification, improvements in total factor productivity and proper management of irrigation (GoI, 2007, Evenson et al. 1999) alongwith the provisions of market and institutional support for efficient post-harvest management. With respect to Himachal Pradesh, in order to improve the productivity levels of existing crop enterprises and promote the diversification of cropping systems, various steps have been taken by the line departments which include the creation of water harvesting and irrigation infra-structure, skill up gradation of farmers, subsidy on critical inputs like seed, fertilizers, plant protection materials, market access through information technology and village road network, crop insurance schemes, etc. The impact of these interventions is reflected through the continuous increase in the productivity levels and inclination of farming community towards the adoption of new crop enterprises vegetables and fruit crops.

Introduction

India pre-dominantly an agriculture-based country, requires constant endeavors to seewhether rural and agricultural credit facilities are enhanced with time. As a part of theseefforts, agricultural credit cards and cash credit facility were introduced in lending system. The Kisan Credit Card is a credit card programme launched by Indian banks in August 1998. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) developed this model scheme to supply term loans for agricultural needs based on the suggestions of the R.V. Gupta Committee. Its goal is to provide financial assistance to farmers in order to address the agricultural sector’s comprehensive credit needs. All commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks, and state cooperative banks are among the participants. Short-term credit limitations for crops are in place, as are term loans. Personal accident insurance covers KCC credit card members up to Rs. 50,000 for death and permanent disability and up to Rs. 25,000 for other risks. The premium is split evenly between the bank and the borrower. The validity period is five years, with the option of an additional three year extension, Kisan Credit Card provides cash and term credit to farmers for a variety of linkedoperations such as pump sets, land expansion, planting, and drip irrigation. Soil Wellbeing Card programming has been institutionalized and online programming built for eight statesunderthee-Government Program to provide coordinated supplement administration suggestions based on soil test edit reaction approach. Ranchers receive data through avariety of channels, including Common Service Centres, Internet Kiosks, and SMS, as partofthe Nationale-Governance Plan for Agriculture. Farmers are spared from the exorbitant interest rates charged by traditional banks under the KCC plan. The interest rate on KCC loans ranges from 2% to 4%. This low interest rate aids farmers in repaying loans more quickly, taking into account the crop’s harvesting season and the date the loan was provide.

Introduction

A woman is the nucleus of a family, particularly in rural India. For the rural women, the day starts early in the morning with the responsibilities of fetching water, fodder and fuel, cooking food and looking after the livestock and children. Promila et al. (2003) revealed that farm women spent 15:64 hrs/day and 16:58 hrs/ day for productive work during the slack and peak period, respectively. The time saved by farm women from farm activities during the slack period was diverted towards care of children, family members and household works. Still, there is no recognition for their hard work; just because their work is not evaluated in terms of money.

The contribution of women in agriculture is estimated to be about 50 to 60 per cent. In many places, the entire livestock management is looked after by women only. They help in farm operation, take their animals on distant lands for grazing, washing, milking, fodder, breeding management, sale of milk, if necessary by taking it to the market and so on in addition, perform the functions related to house management. Even though, women are playing a very important role in innovation decision process, they are not allowed to try and see whether they are capable of managing farm and family affairs independently or with the help of family members.Adequate attention is also not being paid for the social and economic development of farm women and to encourage them to avail training facilities on farm and dairy management practices for supplementing their family income through development of occupational skills and proficiency.

Introduction

Women make essential contributions to the agricultural and rural economies in all developing countries. Their roles vary considerably between and within regions and are changing rapidly in many parts of the world, where economic and social forces are transforming the agricultural sector. Agriculture needs manpower, if the manpower split into gender wise, amazing fact is that the women contribution is greater or equal to men (Chauhan, 2011).That is reason that right from the day the country become independent, it has been trying hard for rural development.

According to the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, women make up 40 per cent of the agricultural labour force in most parts of the world, while in developing countries they make up 67 per cent of the agricultural workforce (Singh, 2008). Therefore, strengthening and expanding women’s roles and opportunities in agriculture promotes sustainable economic development. Gender inequalities are a measurable and significant limit on agricultural productivity and efficiency, undermining rural economic development. India has paved the way to development by increasing its trade and growth in Agriculture sector. To review the agriculture scenario of our country, it depicted that there is need to pay sincere attention towards the human resource development (men and women together) because modernizing agriculture needs skill and efficient work forced. Farm business has become a family enterprise in India, where both men and women take part evenly. It is well known fact that the success of rural development process largely depends on the participation of people at large, irrespective of sex. The problems of involving women’s participation in the development process are now catching the attention of planners and policy maker because of increasing imbalances generated out of development process. Now days, rural women play a vital role in domestic and socio-economic life of the society and therefore, national development is not possible without developing this important and substantial section of our society (Okafor, 2008).

Introduction

Agriculture is the back bone of Indian economy. About 18.8 percent (2021-22) of the national income originates from the agriculture sector. Approximately 60 percent of India’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for livelihood. A large number of important industries like jute, textiles, edible oils, tobacco, sugar etc. receive the raw materials produced by agriculture sector. India occupies second position in the production of fruits and vegetables in the world after China (National Horticulture Database 2019 2020) It is grown almost in all the states of the country.

Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) like all other Brassicaceae family crops has descended through introgression, mutation, human selection and adaptation from a single wild predecessor Brassica oleracea L. var. sylvestris which is still found growing in western and southern Europe and North Africa. The name cauliflower consists of two Latin words namely ‘caulis’ means cabbage and ‘floris’ means flower. It is grown throughout the country for its highly suppressed ‘prefloral fleshy apical meristem’ called “Curd” which is used as vegetable, soup and for pickling (Choudhury, 2006). Cauliflower is the pride of cole crops because of its good taste, flavour and nutritional value. It contains good amount of vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C and fair amount of proteins and fibers. The cauliflower is also a good source of minerals like Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Na, and S.

Introduction

Among the rice growing countries, India has the largest area (448 lakh ha) followed by china and Bangladesh. Total food grain production in India is estimated at 2813l.7 lakh tonnes. Rice production is estimated at 1156 lakh tonnes (Anonymous, 2010). In India, rice is grown in the state of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal lead in the area, while West Bengal harvest highest rice production. The average yield per hectare is highest i.e., 5970 kg/ha in the Punjab during 2018-19.

Rice is grown throughout the state except Kachchh and Saurashtra. Some part of the state is growing rice as a drilled, while transplanted rice is taken in south and middle Gujarat. In Gujarat rice occupies about 10.61 per cent of the gross cropped area of the state and accounts for around 25.5 per cent of the food grain production. It is grown on an average about 7.5 to 8.5 lakh hector of land comprising nearly 70 to 80 per cent low land (transplanted) and 15 to 20 per cent of upland (drilled) rice (Anonymous, 2020). During the 2018-19, the yield of kharif rice in Gujarat was around 2247.75 kg/ha. Yield of summer rice was 3130.96 kg/ha and total production of rice in the year of 2018-19 was 1911 tonnes (Anonymous, 2020). During the 2019-20, the yield of kharif rice was 2117.81 kg/ha and yield of summer paddy was 2996.36 kg/ha and total production of rice in the year of 2019-20 was 1929.98 tonnes (Anonymous, 2020).

In Gujarat some districts like Chhotaudepur, Tapi, Navsari have highest rice productivity which covered 1.279 lakh hector area with production and productivity respectively of 3.338 lakh tonne and 2582 kg/ha and some district like Mehsana, Narmada, Panchmahal, North Gujarat etc. have medium to low productivity of paddy. But in some part of North Gujarat like Gandhinagar and Sabarkantha have low productivity of rice.

Introduction

The most significant commercially grown fruit crop in the country is the mango (Mangifera indica L.), which belongs to the Anacardiaceae family. It’s known as the “king of fruits.” Mango cultivars can be found in the greatest variety in India. Mango farming is thought to have begun in South East Asia. Since about 6,000 years ago, mango has been grown in south Asia.Mango is native to South Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics.

The major mango-growing states are Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh rank 1st in area, whereas Uttar Pradesh rank 1st in production and productivity. Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat together contribute for about 82% of the total production in India.

India to become the second largest fruit producer in the world, after china, with a production of 102481 thousands metric tonnes of fruits from an area of 6930 thousands hectares in 2020-21.The fruit is grown in India, the total area under mango cultivation was 2317 thousand hectare with an annual production of 20386 thousand metric tonnes.(NHB 2020-21).

Mango is well adopted in tropical and sub-tropical climates but it can be grown up to 1,100 meters above sea-level. There should not be humidity, rain or frost during flowering. The temperature between 24 and 270C is ideal for its cultivation. Higher temperature during fruit development and maturity gives better quality fruits. The areas expressed frequent showers and high humidity is prone to many pests and diseases. Thus it can grow best in regions with a rainfall between 25cm and 250 cm. Regions having bright sunny days and moderate humidity during flowering is ideal for mango growing.The farmers 92.20 per cent had problems of pests in their mango trees. The most common pests were the mango seed weevil 48.10 per cent, fruit fly 36.40 per cent, trips 1.30 per cent, aphids 1.30 per cent and the most common diseases were the powdery mildew 46.80 per cent, anthracnose 18.20 per cent and scab 2.60 per cent (Gitonga,2010).

Introduction

Horticulture crops cover large varieties of fruits, vegetables, flowers and plantation and spices crops. Among these, vegetable cultivation is the major attraction to farmers as it is comparatively more remunerative the field crops. Vegetables not only provide maximum output but also give more income per unit area of land. Vegetable cultivation among small land holders has always been source of supplementary source of income and provides gainful employment through intensive cultivation and thus vegetable growers are normally more prosperous than those who grow cereals, because of higher returns.

Brinjal (Solanummelongena L) is a commercial vegetable crop belongs to the family of solanaceae. It is a nannual crop. It is mainly used for culinary purpose. Brinjal has been considered as one of the important vegetable crop. The brinjal growers can increase production of brinjal through adoption of new varieties and with improved technologies. A first-hand knowledge regarding existing status of adoption of improved technology helpful to the extension workers for concentrating their efforts to create favorable condition for better adoption of the innovations of brinjal cultivation. Arvind kumar singh (2017) revealed that more than half of the respondents belong to middle age group, educated up to higher secondary, had medium level ofland holding, medium level of annual income, sources of information and low level of material possession. Further headded, that he possessed low level of farm power.

Introduction

Agriculture has been undoubtedly the major source of livelihood in the developing nations like India. Livelihood is defined as adequate stock and f low of food and cash with an individual or a family to meet its basic needs (Girish et al., 2020). It encompasses the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims and access) and activities required for a means of living (Chambers and Conway, 1992). Livelihoods are considered secure when households have secure ownership or access to resources and income earning activities, including reserves and assets, to offset risks, ease shocks and meet contingencies (Chambers, 1989). The livelihood security is a complex concept that is location specific, subjective and dynamic (Hogger and Ruedi, 2004). It comprises of many indicators like food, educational, financial, health, culturaland social securities. Constraints like practices of traditional methods of cultivation, lack of access to modern technology, low productivity of crops, in-adequate capital formation and low investment, widespread illiteracy among farmers, etc., have become a major threat to the educational, food, economic and social securities, thus ultimately affecting the livelihood status of farming households in the country (Hatai and Sen, 2008). Since, a large fraction of farmers in the country lives in the rural areas, they have no proper knowledge regarding the usage of modern farming techniques. Often their low level of education and lack of communication has resulted into a lack of general awareness regarding the modern research and inventions on agriculture (Makal et al., 2017). In such scenario, farmers’ trainings play important role which helps the farmers in understanding the application of latest agricultural technologies in daily farming activities. It improves the knowledge of the trainees about the improved farm practices (Srinivas and Sailaja, 2013). The major players providing these extension services in public sector are Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and ICT-led extension interventions by Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Government of India. Many state universities through their KVKs, have been imparting need-based trainings to the farmers in their routine activities as well as sponsored by various departments/agencies. In last few decades, KVKs have increasingly become associated with grass root development (Saha, 2013).

Introduction

A large number of institutions in the field of agriculture and allied sectors are contributing to research in development of high yielding varieties of crops, technological innovations and other initiatives to boost production and human resource development. The technology available has to be permeated depending upon the necessities of the region – its soil, climate, culture and needs and means of the farmers, available human resources, feasibility and viability of different parts of the country. It has been observed that there are variations in knowledge and technological percolation. The National Commission of Farmers (founded in 2004) raised the issue of knowledge deficit, which directly impinges on agriculture productivity. There are significant gaps in backward and forward linkages between the agricultural laboratories and the farmers, in so far as transfer of technology is concerned. The 10th and 11th plans have emphasized the need for effective extension services. The 11th Plan Approach Paper also states that “in the longer run, growth in agriculture productivity can be sustained only through a continuous technological progress”. The 11th Plan shows a concern towards the problem of transfer of technology and knowledge at grass-root level and puts forth challenges before the extension agencies. The 11th Plan points out that extension services are to be treated as a service delivery mechanism. The 12th Plan also emphasizes the need for mechanisation of agriculture with robust extension services.

Introduction

Women play a pivotal role in agricultural and rural economies in all developing countries. Rural India woman is facing Poverty and unemployment is the major problems. In India at the end of ninth five year span 26.1% of the population was living below poverty line. In the rural area 27.1% of the population was living under poverty. The overall unemployment rate is estimated to 7.32%. The female unemployment rate is 8.5%. The rate of growth of women unemployment in the rural area is 9.8%. A series of development programmes have been implemented for the development of economy in general ignoring women who constitute 50 percent of the total population. Role of women in development is an indispensable factor. Development programmes no longer can achieve their target without the participation and contribution of women. Women empowerment is multifaceted concept that extends to the psychological, economic, social, cultural, political and institutional spheres of women’s lives. The Government of India has launched and implemented a number of schemes towards poverty alleviation and women empowerment but it was observed that women in rural areas especially from the poor families could not be benefitted. Women empowerment is the most important instrument for the socio-economic development of a nation. In this context, SHGs have emerged as the tools that wield power to create a socio-economic revolution in the rural areas of our country. The empowerment of rural women is a key priority in the National Development Policy of India. In India, the organization of SHGs, especially those promoted by Non Governmental organizations (NGOs) is widely recognized as a development strategy for poverty reduction. NGOs also known as voluntary sector have become an irresistible global force today and it is growing in relation to its presence in developmental activities. Basically, an NGO or voluntary organisations are non-profit making agencies that are constituted with a vision by a group of likeminded people, committed for the uplift of the poor, marginalized, unprivileged, underprivileged, impoverished, downtrodden and the needy and they are closer and accessible to the target groups, flexible in administration, quicker in decision making, timely in action and facilitating the people towards self reliance ensuring their fullest participation in the whole process of development. SHGs are started by NGOs that generally have broad anti-poverty agendas. SHGs are seen as instruments for goals including empowering women, developing leadership abilities among poor people, increasing school enrollments and improving nutrition and the use of birth control. SHGs are small group of individual members who voluntarily come together and form an association for achieving a common objective. In most cases, SHGs are constituted by persons known to one another and coming from the same village community or neighbourhood. SHGs are small in size with membership ranging from 10 to 20 and are homogeneous. A strengthening development among women the nation over has been currently turned by quick advancement in SHG arrangement. The arrangement of SHGs isn’t conclusively a miniaturized scale credit venture however a strengthening procedure. The strengthening of women through SHGs would give advantage not exclusively to the individual women yet in addition for the family and network all in all through aggregate activity for improvement. Women constitute half of any country’s human endowment. All round development and harmonious growth of a nation would be possible only when women are considered as equal partners in progress with men.

Introduction

Humans primarily get their nourishment from agriculture. According to the most recent UN estimates, the population of the globe could increase to over 9.7 billion in 2050, and to fulfill the demands of an expanding population and a rising need for food, the energy demand in the agricultural sector has dramatically expanded. However, a farm that produces food needs a steady supply of energy to run the machinery, irrigation pumps, and other devices that are often powered by fossil fuels. Because of the ongoing demand for energy, there is growing concern that these fossil fuels will also run out soon (Aroonsrimorakotet al., 2020). Additionally, other global issues like climate change, water shortage, and energy security are just a few variables affecting agricultural production that require more environmentally friendly and sustainable farming methods As a result, it is crucial to maximize land usage and increase agricultural production through the deployment of cutting-edge farming techniques and new technology for both economic effectiveness and the best possible use of the limited resources available in the form of land. There are many distinct uses for renewable energy in agricultural systems. Renewable energy sources can also be used to generate electricity for a range of agricultural tasks (Torshizi and Mighani, 2017). Renewable energy can come from a variety of sources, but solar energy is the ideal option because it can be installed practically anywhere on the field, is pollution-free, and is also the most economical. Unlike the usage of fossil fuels, using solar energy doesn’t release greenhouse gases. For remote locations with erratic access to electricity, it is the best renewable energy choice. Applications for space and water heating, greenhouse heating, solar photovoltaic systems, and water pumps for irrigation using various forms of solar energy technology (Mekhilefet al., 2013). There are numerous benefits of using solar energy technologies, such as solar panel water pumping systems, aside from being free of fuel costs, solar panels also have lower maintenance costs and require fewer replacement components than generators powered by diesel engines. In order to meet the growing demand for agricultural products from the expanding population, agriculture is a sector that aspires to accept the usage of solar energy and reaps enormous benefits from it. Therefore, solar energy technology has emerged as a solution in order to boost economic benefits to farmers and improve the environment by reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, thereby addressing the issues caused by a growing population and a shrinking amount of available resources (Aroonsrimorakot and Laiphrakpam, 2019). The potential for farmers to move from using fossil fuels to using renewable alternative energy, which might lead to produce superior in both quantity and quality of food produced in various kinds of agricultural farms (Bardi et al., 2013). The issue will get worse unless the farmers change their perception about the adoption of solar energy technologies. Therefore, it is advised for farmers to employ energy-saving tools for producing crops and to maximize land by installing solar energy systems because they are practical, affordable, and useful for a variety of tasks (Duprazet al., 2011). Since many people still solely rely on fossil fuels for energy and lack access to modern energy sources, in light of this, the current study was done to assess the level of awareness and adoption of solar energy in agricultural operations.

Introduction

India is the second-largest producer of vegetables in the world after China. India accounts for 16 percent of the world’s production of vegetables. India home to 17.74% of the world’s population has only accounted for about 2.4% of the world’s geographical area and 4% of its water resources. Vegetables play an imperative role in nutritional security, economic viability and fit well into the predominant intensive cropping systems prevailing in different parts of our country. More than 60 kinds of vegetables are grown in India in tropical, subtropical and temperate agro-climates. India is the largest producer of okra and ranks 2nd in the production of potato, onion, cauliflower, and cabbage. During 2013-2014, India produced 162.19 million tonnes of vegetables and vegetable export from our country was worth Rs. 5462.93 crores. For a balanced diet, an adult who works moderately needs about 300 grams of vegetables per day, of which about 50 grams should comprise root vegetables, 50 grams of leafy vegetables and 200 grams of other kinds of vegetables as per Dietary Guidelines for Indians, NIN, 2011.

The vegetable is one of the important crops of Jharkhand, which is being cultivated on a commercial scale. About 3.2% of the gross cropped area of the State is devoted to vegetable crops. Vegetable development depends not only on production but also on the marketing system. Vegetable cultivation being labour intensive can substantially increase employment and livelihood avenues too. Vegetable growers face many challenges in the course of marketing their products and their marketing behaviour varies under different circumstances. Keeping this in view, the present investigation entitled “Marketing Behaviour of vegetable growers in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand” was undertaken.

Introduction

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world. Indian turmeric is considered to be the best in the world market because of its high curcumin content. India accounts for about 80 per cent of world turmeric production and 60 per cent of world exports. Major turmeric exporting countries are India, Thailand, Taiwan, and several other Southeast Asian, Central and Latin American countries. The major turmeric importing countries include Japan, Sri Lanka, Iran, UAE, US, UK and Ethiopia.

Turmeric is native of India and china. The word turmeric is derived from the French word ‘Terre-merite’ meaning merit of the earth. Its botanical name is Curcuma longa L. and belongs to family Zingeberaceae, it is also known as ‘Indian Saffron’ is an herbaceous perennial plant growing up to the height of 60 – 90 cm with short stem. The plant is propagated from rhizomes. The leaves are long, broad lanceolate and bright green. The flowers are pale yellow and born on dense spikes. The pseudo stem are shorter than leaves. The rhizomes were ready for harvesting about 7 to 9 months after planting.

India is popularly known as the “Spiced Bowl of the World” as a wide variety of spices with premium quality grown in a country since ancient times. Indian turmeric is considered to be the best in the world due to presence of high curcumine content. Turmeric contains up to 5.00 per cent essential oil and up to 5.00 per cent curcumine, a polyphenol.

Introduction

NITI Policy Paper No.1/20017 reveals details of the concept and time frame as how to double the income of the farmers. The policy paper emphasizes in increase in agriculture productivity, improvement in total factor productivity, diversification towards high value crop, and increase in crop intensity, increasing terms of trade for farmers and shifting cultivators to non-farm and subsidiary activities. The well thought and planned program for doubling the income of the farmers reflecting dream or reality. We have farmers of different types like, small. Marginal and large farmers, resource rich and resource poor farmers, farmers of irrigated and non-irrigated zones, tribal and non-tribal farmers , trained and untrained farmers and progressive and non-progressive farmers. The farmers and their economic structure are quite different from place to place even within district. NSSO data on consumption expenditure survey (2011-12) reveal that more than one-fifth of households with self employment in agriculture and their principal occupation were having income less the poverty line.

Milk Production Scenario

Milk is primary source of protein and lactoseDairy farming is considered to be a whole environment of reciprocal relations and dependency reproduction and protection of social values. In worldwise dairy cows count up to 264 millions producing 600 million tones of milk every year. The global average for milk production is approximately 2200 litters/cow. Cattle population of world is 1009.69 millions heads (FAO, 2019) and highest milk producing countries are India, USA, China, Pakistan and Brazil. In case of consumption of milk India tops in the world followed by EU, USA and China. The per capita consumption of milk is highest in the country of Belarus followed by Ukraine and New Zealand. India is ranked 7th in the world in this respect. In India total cattle population is 306.70 millions. The state of Odisha constitutes 1.19% of the total cattle population of India. The level of milk production of India is reported to be 198.2 metric million tones. The per capita availability of milk in India is 427 gms/day (2021) and highest being in Punjab followed by Rajasthan. In case of Odisha the per capita milk availability is 143 gms and in milk production the district Cuttack top the list followed by Ganjam and Jagatsinghpur.

Introduction

Animal husbandry and poultry rearing, in addition to offering economic participation, play an important role in securing household food security. The core notion of food security argues that everyone should have physical and economic access to the basic nutrition they require. ‘Food security is a scenario that exists when all people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, secure, and nutritious food that fits their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’, according to the FAO (2002). Consequently, two requirements must be met in order to ensure food security: the first is the availability of food, and the second is the ability to purchase it. There is a propensity to define food security at the national level without examining its condition at the grass roots level with major emphasis at the household or individual level. This is because, while national food security may appear to be adequate, disparities in food security may exist among regions, groups, households, and people.

Increased crop output can increase people’s calorific intake, but protein is also essential for health, and pulses and coarse grains are essential. According to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, DAC & FW, total pulse output in the nation was roughly 25.42 million tonnes in 2017-18, and over 23.40 million tonnes in the following fiscal year (2018-19). This demonstrates the country’s falling pulse production pattern, diminishing the availability of vegetable protein to the public. A similar trend was observed in states like Assam, where the area under pulse production declined from 1,54,706 hectares in 2017-18 to 1,50,229 hectares in 2018-19, and further fell to 1,43,962 hectares in 2019-20. The provisional data further forecasted the area to fall even further to 1,42,303 hectares in 2020-21. (Statistical Handbook of Assam, 2020 and 2021)

1. Introduction

Milk is the principal source of protein and lactose in the diet. Dairy farming is viewed as a whole ecosystem of reciprocal relationships and reliance, as well as there production and safe guarding of societal values. Dairy farms are primarily made up of high-yielding dairy cows. Goats, sheep, and camels are some of the other animals employed in commercial dairy production. Milk has always been regarded as a healthy food. Milk includes more than9 other essential elements, including protein, carbs,vitamins, minerals, and lipids, in addition to calcium, which makes it critical for your bones.

Every year, about 600 million tonnes of milk are produced by over 264million dairy cows across the world. The global average for milk output per cow is around 2,200 litres. India is the world’s top milk producer followed by the United States, China,Pakistan, and Brazil. The economy of India is mostly dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry, with milk production playing a significant role. It is also the world’s largest producer of buffalo milk (FAO, 2019).

Co-operative dairy sector proved to be resilient as it continued to procuremilk from farmers and supply it to the consumers despite several logistical and other challenges. Milk production in India did not show any sign of slowdown. Milk productionis anticipated to be around 209.96 million tonnes in 2020-21, an increase of about 6.3 percent over the previous year. The estimated per capita availability of milk is expected to increase to about 425 gms /day which is more than the world average of around 315gms/day(NDDB,2020).The dairy co-operatives had a difficult year due to an influx of more milk production, a reduction in milk sales, and the building of inventories of preserved goods. Throughout the year, milk procurement by dairy co-operatives increased as it accepted diverted extra milk from farmers that would otherwise be sold to private and unorganized businesses. During the 2020-21 budget year, milk procurement by dairy co-operativesincreased by 7.9 per cent. Indian dairy co operatives have installed milk processing capacity of 66.3million litters per day,73.3million liters/day in private sector enterprises, and 2.5 million litres per day in producer companies.

Introduction

Beekeeping is an environment friendly and agro-forestry based occupation that has established itself as an income generating activity and a commercial enterprise which not only promote agricultural and horticultural development but also contributes in upliftment of the rural economy of the country. Apiculture provides enormous potential for income generation, poverty alleviation and sustainable use of forest resources. Traditional beekeeping with Apisceranais widely practised by rural people in Uttarakhand who have inherited the tradition from their forefathers and maintain it till this day. The people in Uttarakhand have indigenous knowledge of beekeeping which is passed from one generation to another. In the hill area traditional hives are more suitable than modern hives. Modern beekeeping is infancy in the area, so people need to be encouraged to use modern bee hives for better management of colonies.

Uttarakhand is a land of variety of flora and fauna. Beekeeping forms an integral part of the small holder farming system and plays a significant role as a source of additional cash income in subsistence farming. There are around 2,50,000 beekeeping units in India out of which only 8,700 are in Uttarakhand accounting for about 2500 MT of honey production in 2016-17. Uttarakhand is extremely rich in Bee forage plants but the use of this rich resource is not being made properly (Tiwari, et al. 2010). Around 20.00 per cent of the Beekeepers in Uttarakhand do not use any medicine for the management of pest and diseases showing that the farmers are not much aware of the advance methods of beekeeping (Khan et al., 2007). Uttarakhand has huge potential for beekeeping due to plenty of flora and suitability of climate. Beekeeping is an ancient practice that is managed traditionally in Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. Due to the traditional production system the productivity per hive is low in Uttarakhand. Therefore, it is Important to know about the constraintsfaced by the Beekeepers in practicing apiculture in Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand.

Introduction

Agriculture is one of the important pillars of the Indian economy. According to a report from FICCI, about 54 percent of Indian population depends directly on agriculture and it accounts for around 17.3 percent of GDP (FICCI, 2018). In the last two decades, powered by the Government policies and strong engagement of the industry and institutions, agriculture is rapidly evolving into agribusiness in terms of approach and structure. Transformation of Agriculture to Agri-business is one of the important strategies where enterprising farmers practice profitable agriculture.

India has become the third largest startup ecosystem hub. India is home to highest number of unicorn startups after US and China with 26 unicorns out of 250 plus total unicorns globally. At a time where with the increasing population and demand for better quality and higher quantity of food. India currently has more than 49,000 plus startups, 1500 plus investors, 250 plus incubators, and 26 unicorns (NASSCOM, Srivastav, 2018). The Indian startup ecosystem is ranked at number 37 and the global ranking of its top three cities are Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai for the year 2018. In 2020, Bengaluru again continued its title “silicon valley of India” (Spews, 2021).

In a bid to double the farmer’s income by 2022, the Government of India is continuously looking for ways to boost agricultural production, food processing and marketing avenues through the integration of latest technologies and innovations; thus creating a huge scope for food and agritech startups in the country (Balaji, 2018). Many agritech startups in India are mainly in marketplace segment where e-commerce companies provide fresh and organic fruits and vegetables procured directly from farmers. Very recently many startups have come up providing innovative and sustainable solutions for farmer’s problems. Startups have provided solutions such as biogas plants, solar powered cold storage, fencing and water pumping, weather prediction, spraying machines, seed drills, vertical farming, etc (Sachitanand, 2018). EM3 Agriservices offers farming services and machinery rentals to farmers on a pay-for-use basis.

Introduction

In view of the present Indian agriculture scenario, farmer producers organisations (FPOs) are emerged as a most appropriate institutional form to mobilize small and marginal farmers ,improved their access to technology, inputs and markets. As per the report of National Council on Farmers, these organisations are mainly promoted to combine the advantages of decentralized production and centralized services, post harvest management, value addition and marketing. (NCF,2004). In order to meet the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat and to make farmers atmanirbhar, Farmer Producers’ Organizations (FPOs) is an appropriate form to mobilize them. Recently Government of India has announced a budgetary provision of 4496.00 crore for five years for promotion of 10,000 FPOs.(Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs,CCEA2020)

Also to improve agricultural productivity and income of the farmers, it is necessary to develop an entrepreneurial culture among the member farmers of an organisation. To make this organisational approach more successful, member farmers need to develop planning ability, decision making abilitiy, managerial qualities ,scientific attitude, organisational skills, participatory skills etc. The member farmers as an agripreneur should possess knowledge about improved production techniques, markets, consumer preferences , schemes, credit availability, policy advocacy to enterprise effectively under FPO.

Introduction

Novel Corona Virus 2019 (COVID 19) has impacted the human race very badly than any other disease in twenty first century. Almost every country on this planet was affected by this virus. The condition is more severe in developed countries.

So when it All Started?

There were reports that the medical professionals of Wuhan in China informed the government that there is some mysterious pneumonia like disease which is spreading very fast and affected the doctors and other paramedical staff who are attending the patients. When the situation became serious it was declared as outbreak of epidemic and first case of COVID 19 was declared in Wuhan China on 31st December 2019. Wuhan is one of the main business centres of china and there was regular movement of domestic and international visitors to that place. Till the problem was identified and communicated to other agencies, the spread of virus was already there in other parts of china and world specially Europe and USA.

World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID 19 as pandemic on 11 February 2020. Countries like USA criticized WHO for delay in identifying the disease and declaring it a pandemic.The damage was already done due to its spread in other countries. In India first reported case of COVID 19 was on 30th January at Kerala. However, considering the possible danger of this disease, Indian Government took primitive measure to contain the spread of Virus and announced Nationwide Lockdown 1.0 on 23rdMarch 2020. Similarly, Lockdown 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 were announced on 14 April, 3rd May and 17th may respectively.

Introduction

India is bestowed with a lot of potentials to produce a variety of organic products due to its diversified agro-climatic regions and this is very true in case of Dehradun district of Uttarakhand. It offers a variety of geographic locations suitable for cultivating various food crops such as: fruits, vegetables, food grains etc. Globally, organic farming is cultivated in an area of 57.80 million ha. However, India accounts for just 2.59% of the area. The organic farming is followed in India in almost all the regions with three states Madhya Pradesh (34.34%), Maharashtra (13.19%) and Rajasthan (11.67%) accounting for about 59% of the total organic area of the country. The cultivated land under certification has substantially increased from 1.74 lakh ha in the year 2005-06 to 1.78 million ha in the year 2017-188 (https://www.researchgate. net/publication/338209816_Impact_of_farmer_producer_organization_on_ organic_chilli_production_in_Telangana_India) Agriculture and its allied sectors are the largest source of livelihoods in India. However, India still has many growing concerns. As the Indian economy has diversified and grown, agriculture’s contribution to GDP has steadily declined from 1951 to 2011. (Source: http://www.fao.org/india/fao-in-india/india-at-a-glance/). One of the main reasons is due to the lack of competence in Indian farmers for selling the crop in remunerative prices in the market. Some of the critical constraints and bottlenecks are lack of infrastructure for storage, transportation, quality control, packaging, price risk management, cool chains, market led extension, and framework for promotion of contract farming (Gohain, 2018). Realizing these issues Government of India under the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation identified Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) as the most appropriate institutional form to mobilize farmers and build their capacity to collectively leverage their production and marketing strength(Ministry of Agriculture, 2013).For analyzing the potential, importance and contribution of FPO in the agriculture sector, the present study aims to discuss the role of FPO in uplifting small and marginal farmers and its impact on the basis of the project undertaken by Silgur Bizat SwayattSahkarita FPO in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand.

Introduction

India has been advancing excessively in terms of workforce engagement as a lot of women have started seeking space in the business arena. The new age has given way to a new trend of entrepreneurshipwhich is flourishing without the quantification of gender. Needless to say, India has been dealing with a very bad history of patriarchal class arrogance and work division that cannot fully provide all the freedom to women who want to prosper in their professional lives.

The female entrepreneurs have to undergo a lot of obstacles right from the initiation of the idea till the plan operates. Sometimes, the existence as a women itself comes with a baggage of responsibilities. Indian women are bound to fulfill their responsibilities towards their family, community and work, balancing everything equally and in an efficient manner.

The conventionalism, ethnicity, social and cultural principles, parenthood, the tag of feeblest sex and insecurity curb the confidence of women in comparison to their male counterparts. Even though there have been considerable changes found in the women dwelling in urban areas, the rural women still have numerous hindrances blocking their path. The perceptive of the opponent sex is irrational in rural areas due to the lack of education and it becomes hard for the women to resist men in such cases.

The Indian customary draws a thin line between the capability and responsibility allotted to different gendersMohsen B., and Zouari S. (2014). It has even threatened the employment chances of females in the traditional and eccentric sphere of fiscal exercises. The present scenario has not broken the undeterred confidence of women who sought to make a career in business, since the last decade. With the alteration in technology, globalization and rivalry accentuation has made the operation of business more multifaceted and vibrant.

Introduction

Silk also known as the “Golden Fibre” is admired all over the world for its lustre, strength and smoothness. Sericulture industry is an ecofriendly agro based activity of mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing and production. It is a labour intensive, rural cottage industry providing subsidiary employment and supplementing the income of semi-literate and semi-skilled poor workers throughout the year [Chanotraet al., 2019]. The term ‘sericulture’ includes economic activities which receive poor workers in the value addition at each stage like (i) raising plants for feeding the silk-worms (in the form of the mulberry plantation); (ii) production of disease-free silkworm layings (dfls), eggs, or seeds; (iii) indoor rearing of silkworms till the cocoon stage which produces silk (about 30-day egg-to-cocoon cycle), and (iv) sale of silk cocoons produced.

Silk industry can be broadly classified into; (a) sericulture, (b) post-cocoon technology – reeling (yarn production), spinning and twisting of silk yarn from the cocoons; and (c) weaving, fabric production, printing and dyeing, finishing, garment designing, marketing etc. These activities also provide the auxiliary enterprises of by-product utilization and machine manufacture including spun silk yarn manufacture and pupae oil extraction, thus creating livelihood for the small and marginal farmers and labour force.

Asia is the key producer of silk in the world producing over 98.5 per cent of the global output. There are more than 40 silk producing countries, but the majority of its production comes from China and India, followed by Brazil, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. Unlike temperate countries, India has a distinct advantage of practising sericulture all around the year, as a result of its tropical climate, yielding a stream of about 4-6 crops (Savithri and Sujathamma, 2019).

Introduction

India is known to possess a significant demographic dividend due to its large and growing population where the female population is estimated to be 586.5 million or above currently. This population is characterized by vast regional and cultural differences that create difference in terms of region and culture due to which any kind of generalization is not possible. Women play a crucial role in the growth of the economy and over the years, they had made a substantial impact and achieved status across different sectors both within the country and overseas. Women is a part of workforce but still there is a large population of women both in rural and urban areas that has dreams, but lack the opportunities to realize those dreams and take up their roles other than the household ones. In this regard, it is essential for to promote skill development and women empowerment. In order to upgrade employability and other skills among women, there is need to reduce the unemployment, demographic dividend, cultural and regional barriers and bridge the gap between talent and industry by various innovative methods.

Proactive involvement of society is essential to attain the sustainable development and bring the desired change in the society. Women in economically disadvantaged areas lack opportunities for employment and for self-employment due to various causes and sometimes women in need are on the look-out for affordable vocational courses that is not only of interest to them but also enables them to enhance their employability. Women from these areas can be equipped with the skills they need to increase their employability so that they can access meaningful and sustainable employment, and self employment through entrepreneurship. UNICEF is also assisting women to build stronger links with the private sectors so that they have sustainable market access for their artisanal goods including those who are running home based business.

Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) were initiated by the government to guarantee funds to SC/STs both at State and Centre in pro portion to the size of their respective population. It was in 1974-75 in the Fifth Five Year Plan period that the Government of India introduced the policy of the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) and later in 1979-80 in the Sixth Five Year Plan period the Special Component plan (SCP) which was renamed as Scheduled Caste Sub Plan in April, 2006 and renamed as Allocation for the Welfare of Scheduled Caste (AWSC) in February, 2017.Specifically, the SCSP and TSP mandated that pub lic resources towards SC/ ST welfare must be earmarked in proportion to their share in total population.The Narendra Jadhav Committee was constituted by the Planning Commission in 2010 in this regard.Every year, the Union Budget makes allocations exclusively for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.This fund is spent through the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP).As per the recommendations of the committee the earmarking of funds for all Central Ministries/Departments taken together should be at least 16.2% and 8.2% of the total Plan outlay respectivel under the SCSP and the TSP. The aim of such dedicated allocation is to promote nutritional security, livelihood security and entrepreneurship among these communities.

Stride of ICAR-IIVR and Operational Are

Amid nutritional and livelihood security of tribal population ICAR- Indian Insti tute of Vegetable Research (ICAR-IIVR), Varanasi has adopted 2724 tribal house holds from 24 villages of six clusters namely Faripan, Manvasa, Bakuliya, Chet wa, Jugail, Dahakudandi of Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh and one cluster from Ranchi, Jharkhand for implementation of TSP programme of the institute. Similarly 2566 Scheduled Caste (SC) households have been adopted from 33 vil lages of five different clusters of Varanasi, Mirzapur and Chandauli districts for implementing SCSP programme.

Introduction to Antibiotic Discovery

Antibiotics are the drugs that are used to treat illnesses caused by bacteria in humans and animals. These act by killing or inhibiting the growth and multiplication of bacteria. Antibiotics were considered as “magic bullets” that selectively kills microbes responsible for disease causation, but at the same time would not affect the host (Zaman et al., 2017).

Louis Pasteur in 1877, first discovered the properties of antibacterial compounds with the inhibition of anthrax by saprophytic bacteria. In 1928, Alexander Fleming observed that the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in petri dishes was inhibited by substances produced by the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum, which led to the discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin (Aminov, 2017). Selman Waksman, discovered multiple antibiotics from filamentous actinomycetes living in the soil and defined an antibiotic as “a compound made by a microbe to destroy other microbes”. Following the discovery of Penicillin, various antimicrobial compounds such as sulphonamides, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, lipopeptides, oxazolidinones, glycopeptides, streptogramins, and quinolones were discovered in the “Golden era” of antibiotics during the period from the 1940s to the 1960s and most of the antibiotics still in current use were discovered during that period (Salam et al., 2023). Millions of metric tons of newer classes of antibiotics have been produced in last 60 years since its inception.

AMR has been prevalent in almost all European countries from past decades. A 2021-2022 report published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on AMR in zoonotic and indicator bacteria from humans, animals and food origin reported vast differences in antimicrobials resistance levels among the European countries, with comparatively higher AMR percentages in the southern and eastern parts of Europe (ECDC, 2022, 2023). The resistance levels ranged from very high for tetracyclines, sulfonamides and ampicillin, moderate for ciprofloxacin to low levels for third-generation cephalosporins (cefotaxime and ceftazidime) in human cases infected with Salmonella spp. in 2022 (ECDC, 2023). The trends are dynamic and over a decade of 2013 2022, the human isolates from 12 and 15 countries reported a statistically significant reduction in tetracycline and ampicillin resistance, particularly for S. typhimurium (ECDC, 2023). The ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime combination, a highest priority critically important antimicrobials (CIA), had very low and rare resistance levels for Salmonella isolates of humans and animal and their derived meat.

Livestock species wise variation was also observed in the resistance pattern in imported meat, being higher in poultry meat isolates compared to pig or cattle meat for Escherichia coli (ECDC, 2023). High to extremely high levels of f luoroquinolone resistance from Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli of both human and animal origin isolates exist, due to which the fluoroquinolones can no more be used as a treatment option for human Campylobacter infections (ECDC 2023). The combined occurrence of erythromycin resistance and ciprofloxacin in Campylobacter spp is considered of high public health importance, and the report mentioned that the combined resistance for these antimicrobials was higher in C. coli compared to C. jejuni from food-producing animals and humans. However, while the ciprofloxacin resistance showed an increase in over 13 study countries, seven countries reported reduced erythromycin resistance for C. jejuni. Overall, resistance to conventional antimicrobials was frequent in Campylobacter and Salmonella from humans and animals. Increasing trend in resistance to one of two CIA for treatment in humans has been observed in poultry-originated Salmonella serovars and Campylobacter while combined resistance was is low in few Salmonella serovars and C. coli isolates from humans and animals in some countries (ECDC, 2023).

Antimicrobial Resistance abbreviated as AMR is defined as the process by which microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites change over a period and become resistant to a drug to which they were earlier susceptible to. This makes the medicines ineffective for treatment overtime, thus making infections difficult to treat thereby increasing the risk of spread of diseases caused by them and severe illness which may lead to death. This in turn necessitates the need for development of newer antibiotics. However, there has been a sharp decline in the development and manufacture of new antibiotics in the recent years resulting in development of only few antibiotics in the past two decades. The increase in emergence of antibiotic resistance concurrent with decline in development of newer antibiotics poses a serious threat to health of both humans and animals. Every year about 700,000 deaths have been reported to occur due to resistant infections and this rate is likely to increase further with estimated infections due to resistant pathogens expected to reach over 50 million globally by 2050 (O’Neill, 2016). The worrisome trends of increasing antimicrobial resistance across the globe poses a serious threat to both animal and human health as AMR not only increases the morbidity and mortality rates but also increases the economic burden on health care (Zhu et al., 2022). This presents an extremely grave situation as the supply of new antibiotics is inadequate to cope with the increase of AMR pathogens. The unnecessary use of antibiotics globally especially in the livestock sector as growth promoter further helps in selective enrichment of AMR pathogens which further increases health risks. It is well known that resistant pathogenic and commensal bacteria can persist and spread within and between premises despite zero antimicrobial drug use. This may be explained due to maintenance, replication, and further dissemination of resistance genes by horizontal transfer of genes via natural ecosystem and can occur either by conjugation, transformation and transduction; and these mechanisms can rapidly spread AMR genes among microbial community in natural environment and human microbiome, where these resistant bacterial species may be selected due to presence of antimicrobial drugs (Zhu et al., 2022). The physical transfer of bacteria via movement of animals, workers, and equipment and ineffective cleaning and disinfection may also be responsible for increasing the AMR pathogens in the natural environments.

Introduction

The antibiotics are low molecular weight natural, semi-synthetic, or synthetic substance that kills or slows the growth of germs while causing little or no harm to the host is considered an antimicrobial (Walsh, 2000). Antibiotics are the type of medicine produced by some microorganisms that kill or slow the growth of other microorganisms. It includes any of a large group of chemical substances, as penicillin or streptomycin, produced by various microorganisms and fungi, having the capacity in dilute solutions to inhibit the growth of or to destroy bacteria and other microorganisms, used chiefly in the treatment of infectious diseases (De Vetten et al., 2003). However today, a large number of bacteria are resistant to various antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance occurs when a bacterium becomes able to survive and multiply despite the presence of an antibiotic that would normally control or kill it. In other words, the bacteria become “resistant” and continue to grow even at therapeutic levels of the antibiotic. While antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon, it is accelerated by the selective pressure exerted when an antibiotic is used. Bacteria that are naturally resistant to the antibiotic have a better chance of survival compared to those that are susceptible. As the susceptible bacteria are killed or inhibited, resistant strains are favored and continue to thrive (Holme et al., 2006). Some resistance arises without human influence, as bacteria can naturally produce antibiotics against other microorganisms, resulting in a low-level, natural selection for antibiotic resistance. However, the current surge in antibiotic resistant bacteria is largely attributed to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. One of the main issues facing public health is antimicrobial resistance, particularly in developing nations where access to and use of medications are easier than in developed nations, leading to a disproportionately higher rate of inappropriate antibiotic use and higher resistance levels (Ganguly et al., 2011). Antimicrobial resistance will make it more difficult to control infections in the community and make health care services less effective (Bhatia et al., 2010). It is well known that India has one of the highest rates of infectious disease burdens in the world, and that the country’s high rates of malnutrition and inadequate sanitation make these circumstances worse (http://www. resistancestrategies.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/03/Indiareport).

Introduction

Today, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global issue, contributing to rise in mortality and cost of treatment. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the resistance of a microorganism against an antimicrobial agent to which it was originally sensitive (WHO, 2013). Dispersion of antibiotics is done at large scale, in India even sometimes without any proper prescription. Animal Husbandry is not untouched and antibiotics are used to a great extent, which needs enforcement of strict government rules and regulations for their use in f ield conditions (PHFI, 2011).

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) are enzymes that hydrolyse most of the β-lactam antibiotics and thus mediate resistance to penicillins, 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins (Saravanan et al., 2018). Beta-lactamase inhibitors, inhibit these ESBLs such as clavulanic acid, sulbactam and tazobactam (Trott, 2013). The genes encoding for these enzymes are commonly found both on the chromosomes and plasmids among Enterobacteriaceae family (Kotsoana et al., 2019).

Among Enterobacteriacae, E. coli and Klebsiella species are main environmental pathogens associated with various illnesses such as acute bovine mastitis (Koovapra, 2015), pathogenic E. coli with diarrhoea and extra intestinal infections in humans and animals (Levine et al., 1987), K. pneumoniae with respiratory and urinary tract as well as bloodstream infections (Daehre et al., 2018). Resistance to extended-spectrum β-lactams occurs mainly in members of Enterobacteriaceae family through plasmids encoded ESBL genes. (Sharma et al., 2010).

Introduction

Antimicrobials, viz. antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and anthelmintics are substances widely used to prevent and treat infections in humans, fish & prawn, livestock animals, and crops. In a situation where microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi become resistant to antimicrobial treatments to which they were previously susceptible, it is apprehended that antimicrobial resistance in the microbes has evolved. In fact, antibiotic resistant bacteria evade the effects of antibiotics and multiply in their own way leading to severe health consequences in human and animals. The menace is such that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) hinders treatment modalities targeted for infectious diseases. The hazards of antimicrobial resistance is frequently observed in various pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms, viz. Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Yersinia sp., E. coli serotype O157:H7, enterococci, Pasteurella sp., Actinobacillus sp. with varying severity (McEwen and Fedorka-Cray, 2002). Microorganisms that develop resistance to commonly used antimicrobials are referred to as superbugs. Globally it is a matter of great concern that it spreads rapidly and threatening the ability to treat common infectious diseases, resulting in prolonged illness, disability and death. Without any effective antimicrobial agent, treatment of infectious diseases, many medical procedures like cancer therapy, diabetes management, organ transplantation, and major surgery will not be possible. The microbes showing resistance to multiple antimicrobials are commonly known as multidrug resistance (MDR) organisms (Magiorakos et al., 2012).

Globally, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an important public health and development threat (WHO, 2020). Being one of the top 10 global public health threats, the ever-increasing rates in the occurrence of drug-resistant bacterial infections have become a grave public health concern for the governments (Laxminarayan et al., 2013). Moreover, such infections would be difficult to treat and therefore can lead to worse clinical outcomes (Laxminarayan et al., 2013). Worldwide, each year about 700,000 people die from antimicrobial resistant infections and the mortality figures are projected to reach 10 million/ year by 2050 (O’Neill, 2016). The crude infectious disease mortality rate in India is more than 400 per 100,000 persons and at least 23,000 deaths in adults and 58,000 neonatal deaths per year are caused by AMR bacteria (Laxminarayan and Chaudhury, 2016). A 2017 estimate puts the cost of developing an antibiotic at around US$1.5 billion (Towse, et al. 2017). Meanwhile, industry analysts estimate that the average revenue generated from an antibiotic’s sale is roughly $46 million per year. “That’s tiny and nowhere near the.

The response of any living cell to a xenobiotic (including antibacterial agent) is significantly affected by the prevailing local environmental conditions. In case of bacterial infection, it may include the presence of other microbes, no matter commensal or pathogenic, or biochemical alterations at that particular site of bacterial infection in host. All these host and bacterial factors play a critical role in the evolutionary responses of bacteria but usually go unconsidered while determining the microbial sensitivity to a particular antibiotic in a clinical setting. These also include the direct and indirect interspecies interactions that can affect the responses of individual bacterial species and surviving microbial communities to a particular antibiotic therapy. These interactions may significantly alter the qualitative and quantitative responses, potential phenotypic changes and the final trajectory of evolution of antimicrobial resistance. Due acknowledgement and plausible interpretation to these interactions may help to reduce the upsurge in AMR and its associated morbidity and fatality and pave path to more proficient clinical success.

The factors participating in drug- microbe interaction can be classified into two broad groups: host factors and microbial factors. The environmental milieu of the interaction is chiefly regulated by the gut microbiota with stressors causing deflections. The gastrointestinal bacteria amend host mental and physiological cadence via microbial metabolites such as butyrate, polyphenolic antioxidants, vitamins, and amines, affecting the overall ready perception and active rebuke to a stimulus. Lifestyle stressors such as fluctuating sleep and erratic eating patterns (western diet) disturb the host circadian system along with the gut microbiome. The overall impact is impaired detoxification (decreased conjugation of bile acids or increased production of hydrogen sulphide), substrate oxidation and energy regulation (reduced butyrate production) in the host affecting the overall health and productivity.

Antibiotics, often referred to as “magic bullets” in the battle against bacteria, stand out as one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. Their advent revolutionized the therapeutic landscape, consistently saving millions of lives from bacterial infections (WHO, 2020). Undoubtedly, antibiotics are a blessing to humanity, not merely for their medicinal applications but also for their diverse uses. They have long been employed in various contexts, including animal husbandry and production, serving as preventive measures in numerous underdeveloped and developing nations for decades (Majumder et al., 2020). A range of antimicrobial agents, including antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, disinfectants, and food preservatives, function to either inhibit microbial growth or eradicate them altogether. Among these, antibiotics, specifically tailored to combat bacterial infections, are the most widely used class of antimicrobials. With their increasing and often improper use, microorganisms have developed antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (Murray et al., 2022).

Antimicrobial resistance is an inevitable evolutionary process observed in all microorganisms, and is driven by genetic mutations aimed at resisting the lethal pressures of selection. Bacteria, adapt to environmental selection pressures by developing resistance to antibacterial drugs, thereby diminishing the efficacy of these treatments (Murray et al., 2022). The widespread use of antibiotics, particularly in developing nations, further flares up the process, leading to significant repercussions such as increased rates of morbidity and mortality (WHO, 2020). The incidence and prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections have reached alarming levels in the 21st century, posing a substantial threat to global public health akin to a silent pandemic. Antibiotic resistance knows no borders and can impact individuals of any age or gender, regardless of their location. In its present state, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) stands as one of the foremost threats, not only to global health but also to food security (Murray et al., 2022).

Microbial Resistance Mechanism

Huge use of antibiotics in nosocomical environment has lead to the occurrence of multidrug resistance mechanism by microorganism against particular antibiotics (Munita et al., 2016; Zhao et al., 2020). Main operation includes chemical modification, efflux pump through passivation, modification of drug targeting gene and systemic elimination of antibiotics as many of them can form biofilm (Rajput et al., 2018) which can show extreme resistance. Chemical and enzymatic mechanism can include inactivation, activity loss, degradation and derivatizaton of antibiotics chemical group (Liu et al., 2019). Best idea may include production of enzymes or they can also expel antibiotic to efflux pump. Antibiotics drug efflux resistance can be accomplished by drug efflux pump playing an important role in microbial resistance. A different type of efflux pump system has been identified that include lipophilic and hydrophilic efflux system targeting the drug at different chemical properties (Wasaznik et al., 2009; Kumar et al., 2012). Another strategy adopting in resistance mechanism is modification of drug targeting gene. This mechanism makes the changes in drug to lose its target through drug targeting gene modification. Another important resistance mechanism is effectiveness of antibiotics by interfering with the target site. Therefore, bacteria has evolved different mechanism that include target site protection. A bactericidal role played by beta lactum antibiotics in inhibition of mucopeptide synthase and bacterial penicillin binding protein (PBP) in cell wall transpeptidation reaction that prevents the formation of complete call wall and hence dies (Sauvage et al., 2016). Bacteria also developed its own strategies to cope up with the environmental stress that can also include human body. In course of gaining the advantage bacteria needs to compete for nutrients and to keep away from the molecules produced by other competing organism (Zhao et al., 2019). Recently researchers have found the importance of biofilm resistance in bacteria. Bacterial biofilm resistance produce by complex and systematic drug resistance mechanism.

Introduction

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major cause of health care-associated infections around the world, and resistance has also emerged in infections in the wider community. Infections caused by multi resistant organisms significantly increase morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Molecular analyses have revealed that widespread multi resistance has commonly been achieved by the acquisition of preexisting determinants followed by amplification in response to selection. The capture, accumulation, and dissemination of resistance genes are largely due to the actions of mobile genetic elements (MGE), a term used to refer to elements that promote intracellular DNA mobility (e.g., from the chromosome to a plasmid or between plasmids) as well as those that enable intercellular DNA mobility.

Insertion sequences (IS) and transposons (Tn) are discrete DNA segments that areable to move themselves (and associated resistance genes) almost randomly to newlocations in the same or different DNA molecules within a single cell. Other elements, such as integrons (In), use site-specific recombination to move resistance genes between defined sites. As these types of MGE are often present in multiple copies indifferent locations in a genome, they can also facilitate homologous recombination(exchange of sequences between identical or related segments). Intercellular mechanisms of genetic exchange include conjugation/mobilization (mediated by plasmidsand integrative conjugative elements [ICE]), transduction (mediated by bacteriophages), and transformation (uptake of extracellular DNA). Interactions between thevarious types of MGE underpin the rapid evolution of diverse multi resistant pathogens in the face of antimicrobial chemotherapy. Primarily the most important and/ or topical elements in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial species of particular concern clinically, namely, Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp. (the so-called ESKAPE group) (Rice LB., 2008) as well as Escherichia coli (giving the ESKAPEE group) (Llaca-Díaz J.M. et al.,2012); nonetheless, many of the MGE types described are of course broadly relevant to many other bacterial taxa.

Introduction

Resistance to antibiotics in the bacterial world is a genetically determined phenomenon that was first observed within a few years after the introduction of antibiotics for therapeutic purposes. In Nature, ARGs are believed to have originated about three billion years ago as an intrinsic defense mechanism in antibiotic-producing bacteria (Perry et al., 2016; Iskandar et al., 2022), and subsequently, evolved by complex and quantum jump trajectories to mobilize, diversify and interconnect all ecosystems in the micro-biosphere. Bacterial genomes exhibit plasticity and continue to evolve under the selection pressure of antibiotics and other stressors (Patel, 2016). The ARGs in circulation at present are thus a mixture of ancient and modern counterparts. Recently, the interplay between bacterial metabolism and antibiotic resistance has also been revealed (Zampieri, 2021).

The use of antimicrobials in health management, livestock, and food industry is driving the emergence of resistant microbes at a rapid pace (Wall et al., 2016; Adegoke et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2017). As a result, AR pathogens have spread globally to cause loss of lives, production, productivity, and negatively impact economic growth. Recently, AR pathogens in a large study have been found directly responsible for millions of deaths, and the figures are likely to increase in the coming decades (Murray et al., 2022). The pace of the emergence of AR can however be slowed down by improving human interventions. The global and local AR combat plans implemented during the past few years have enhanced the mass awareness of the pandemic problem (WHO, 2015; FAO, 2016; NAP, GOI, 2017; WHO, 2022; WOAH, 2022). These Action Plans on AR containment encourage avoiding of indiscriminate use of antibiotics for the treatment of sick humans and animals, recommend the ban on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in food animals, promote AR surveillance and monitoring, and support the ‘One-Health’ strategy and application of the biosecurity principles for containment of the resistant microbes.

Introduction

Until the 20thcentury, bacterial infections were the number one cause of human death. In the 1940s, antibiotics became the lifelines for treating serious infections that saved millions of lives. Despite the advantages derived from the use of antibiotics, resistance to these drugs emerged. Unfortunately, resistance to most antibiotics emerged in time-course even for the most powerful antibiotics developed.Resistance to antibiotics is a challenge to the scientific community in keeping up the pace of antibiotic discovery.World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Reporthas listed antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest threats (WEF, 2020).United Nations (UN) has warned that drug-resistant diseases could account for 10 million deaths each year by 2050. By 2030, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could likelylead up to 24 million people into extreme poverty(IACG,2019). Currently, at least 7,00,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant diseases (IACG,2019). The emergence and widespread of antibiotic-resistant organisms is a global challenge and needs a multi-dimensional approach to address the fundamental issues to minimize drug-resistance.The Antibiotic Resistance Genes Database (ARDB) contains a repository of around 23,000 antibiotic resistance gene or protein sequences conferring resistance against over 240 antibiotics (ARDB). Computational Biology (Bioinformatics) has become one of the important tools in studying antimicrobial resistance. It employs a range of computation techniques to make predictions about the biological phenomenon.

Introduction

The study of infectious diseases, alongside other clinical and natural strengths, is going through fast change introduced on by the approach of reasonable next generation sequencing (NGS) advancements (Koser et al., 2012).These technologies become adopted as routine methods easily, and laboratory techniques are transformed throughout the process. The amount of genomic bacterial data generated is huge. As of this writing, for example, over 200,000 Salmonella genomes alone are in the public domain with hundreds being added weekly. A whole genomic DNA sequence characterizes the maximum practicable level of structural detail on the individuating traits of an microbial organism or population. It can therefore be used to provide more accurate microbial genome recognition, evolutionary relations and a detailed catalogue of epidemiologically important characteristics. This has a significant role to play for outbreak research, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, microbiology and epidemiology (Allard et al., 2019). Besides, DNA sequences are also a universal dataset which can theoretically be used to determine any biological function. This means that antimicrobial resistant (AMR) can be detected and to track the development and spread of AMR bacteria in a hospital or the community.

Introduction

The epidemiological risk and hazards to global health security posed by AMR has been reiterating in several World Health Assembly (WHA) declarations and has been prioritized under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The Indian Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has also identified AMR as one of the top priorities for collaborative work with WHO and the first National Action Plan on AMR has been implemented (2017-2022). India ranked fifth in antibiotic consumption in food producing animals (ruminants, pigs, and poultry) in 2010. Even though there has been a gradual reduction of 3.6% in antibiotic consumption during 2011-2019 (Koya et al., 2022), with mounting incomes and shifting in dietary patterns in favour of the consumption of animal protein, especially for poultry, the veterinary antibiotic utilization is projected to further rise by 312%, elevating India to the fourth rank by 2030 (Van Boeckel et al., 2015). FAO has already reported some of the peak resistance rates among common commensal and environmental bacteria against antibiotics like penicillin, cephalosporins, erythromycin and co-trimazoles in India (INFAAR). Resistance to the broad spectrum fluoroquinolones and third generation cephalosporin antibiotics is already more than 70% in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and, Acinetobacter baumannii and more than 50% in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Even the microbial resistance to carbapenems, the last-resort antibiotics, is extremely high among gram-negative microorganisms (Sumanth et al., 2016). To overcome these incidences, it is impulsive to understand the microbe and drug interaction in host system.

Introduction

Malnutrition remains a pervasive global challenge, affecting millions of individuals across the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Despite significant advancements in agriculture and food production, a large segment of the population still lacks access to essential nutrients, leading to severe health consequences and perpetuating cycles of poverty and underdevelopment (Müller and Krawinkel, 2005). Malnutrition, defined as the inadequate intake of essential nutrients required for optimal health and development, encompasses both undernutrition and over-nutrition (WHO, 2023). While undernutrition, characterized by deficiencies in energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals, remains a significant concern, over nutrition, manifesting as obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, is also on the rise, particularly in urban settings (Wells et al., 2020). The consequences of malnutrition are far-reaching, impacting physical growth, cognitive development, immune function, and overall well-being, with long term implications for productivity, economic prosperity, and societal stability (Saunders and Smith, 2010).

Rice, a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, plays a central role in global food security and nutrition. However, conventional rice varieties often lack sufficient levels of key nutrients, such as iron, zinc, vitamin A, and certain amino acids, leaving populations reliant on rice-based diets vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies and associated health risks (Peña-Rosas and Mithra, 2019). Iron deficiency anaemia, zinc deficiency, and vitamin A deficiency, are among the most prevalent forms of malnutrition worldwide, particularly affecting women and children in resource-constrained settings where rice consumption is high (Dipti et al., 2012)

Introduction: N metabolism

Nitrogen is one of the three essential macronutrients for plant growth and yield (Su et al., 2005) and most crucial elements for root growth also (Fageria, 2014). Most macromolecules and a variety of secondary and signalling substances, such as proteins, nucleic acids, cell wall components, hormones, and vitamins, contain nitrogen (N), an important element. In order to assimilate nitrogen, nitrate must be reduced to ammonium, and then ammonium must be converted into amino acids. Perez et al. (1973) pointed out that the rice genotype with high protein yield translocated N from leaf blade to the developing grains more efficiently than the low protein genotype. This was reported due to a high concentration of free amino acids in the sap translocated to the developing grains rather than to differences in translocation rates. Therefore, proper understanding of N metabolism and amino acid translocation are prerequisite to comprehend higher grain protein in high yielding rice genotypes. Use of N by plants involves several steps including uptake, assimilation, translocation and remobilization; and recycling and remobilization when the plant is ageing (Fig. 1). The enzyme nitrate reductase (NR) assimilates nitrate, the main form of nitrogen available to agricultural plants in the field. This enzyme and the nitrogen status of various higher plant systems have a strong positive link, and growth, yield, or protein content can occasionally be connected to this enzyme’s level in seeds or leaves. Nitrate intake occurs at the root level, and it has been demonstrated that plants have two nitrate transport systems that work together to cohabit, absorb, and distribute nitrate from the soil solution throughout the entire plant. (Srivastava 1980) Following NO3- uptake by NO3- transporters and reduction of NO3- to NO2- by nitrate reductase (NR) in the cytoplasm, the process of NO3- assimilation commences (Lea and Miflin, 1974).

Introduction

Understanding the variation in grain protein content is the pre-requisite of its improvement in modern rice varieties. The measure of quantitative and qualitative aspects of grain storage protein content includes estimation of soluble and total grain protein, quantifying various fractions, viz. glutelins, prolamins, globulins and albumins and their profiling through SDS-Page and  estimation of amino acid. As traditional chemical methods for protein content determination are destructive in nature. All these estimates comprehensively give insight into the diversity of storage protein in rice germplasm. The standard procedures followed for all these estimates are briefly stated in the  following sections.

Estimation of Total Grain Protein Content in Rice

The total protein is estimated via estimation of total N through the Kjeldahl method whereas soluble protein is estimated through Lowry method, Dumas method and Bradford method. But for estimation of large number of genotypes all these processes are tedious, time-consuming, and costly. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), as a non-destructive detection technique, can achieve rapid quantitative determination of protein contents and become an important development direction to replace traditional chemical detection methods.

Introduction

Rice is one of the most important staple foods among all cereals. The larger population in Asia and Africa depends on rice for their daily calorie and nutritional requirements. People are found to bank on rice as their main source of nutrition in emerging and underdeveloped nations (Yang et al. 2016). However, it is considered that the milled or polished rice is nutritionally poor as the majority of the essential micronutrients viz. iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), and important vitamins are lost during the process of milling and polishing (Johnson et al. 2011). So, by the way, the poorer section of the worldwide population mainly depends on rice and is most vulnerable to ‘hidden hunger’ as they are unable to afford other micronutrients-rich non-staple foods for their balanced diet and are often at the maximum risk for micronutrients deficiencies (Bouis and Saltzman 2017). The only possible solution for such malnutrition is to have nutritionally enriched food in the daily foodstuff. However, approximately one third of the world’s population is facing the problem of hidden hunger (White and Broadley 2009). Prolonged utilization of carbohydrate-rich food mainly based on rice, wheat, or maize is contributing to such nutritional deficiency in the poorer section of our society as most of them are unable to supplement nutritionally rich food for their diet. The deficiency of micronutrients can be termed a silent epidemic because it slowly weakens our immune system and hampers physical and intellectual development which may lead to fatality in some severe conditions. In the case of micronutrient deficiencies, deficiencies  of iron or iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), zinc deficiency, and vitamin-A  deficiency (VAD) are common, and have serious consequences.

Introduction

Rice contains essential micronutrients such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), magnesium (Mg), etc. which are generally lower when compared with other staple crops like wheat, maize, legumes, and tubers (Adeyeye et al. 2000). The most crucial micronutrients are iron and zinc, whose inadequacy is a leading cause of malnutrition. In this chapter we discuss estimation methodologies and diversity of Fe and Zn, its genetic basis, and improvement for micronutrient content through breeding techniques.

Procedure of Estimation of Fe and Zn Content in Rice Grain

Iron and zinc concentrations in rice samples were generally estimated by colorimetric method Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometry is extremely helpful in the non-destructive estimation of relative Zn and Fe concentration in rice breeding lines and large germplasm collection (Paltridge et al. 2012). The majority of biofortification programs employ XRF as a metal analysis tool. For estimation of Fe and Zn, panicles of middle row plants of each replication were harvested, sun-dried for 4-5 days to reduce the moisture content to 11-12 %, and then seeds were dehusked. Each brown rice sample of about 5g was subjected to energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent spectrophotometer (ED-XRF) as per standard protocol (Stangoulis and Sison 2008, Rao et al. 2014) and expressed in ppm (µg g-1).

Introduction

Rice is the world’s most important staple crop and is a primary source of energy and nutrition for about half of the world’s population. So it is the most important cereal crop with respect to food security of common people. Due to increasing world population and shrinkage of farm land holdings there is an urgent need to increase the grain productivity. Therefore, increasing grain yield has become the primary objective in many rice-breeding programs. India is the second highest rice producer (about 120 million ton/year) in the world and able to meet the demand of rice for the entire Indian population. But along with yield improvement of rice, quality has now become a foremost consideration for rice consumers and millers. Quality is defined as “the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs” (International Standard Organization (ISO) 8402 1986). The concept of grain quality covers many physico-chemical properties such as grain shape and size, milling and cooking properties, amylose content, stickiness, chalkiness, texture, colour, gelatinization characters and various nutritional properties. Thus, rice grain quality generally includes five main classes i.e. (i) milling quality, (ii) physical quality, (iii) cooking and eating quality (iv) sensory quality and (v) nutritional quality. Grain quality and its assessment are very important to consumers, millers and rice breeders who are engaged in varietal improvement programme, related to new features such as high nutritional quality, high yield potential, highly resistant to abiotic or biotic stresses, higher water use efficiency etc.

Introduction

The transgenic approach can be an effective alternative for the development of biofortified crops when there is limited genetic variation for the targeted nutrient content among the germplasm (Zhu et al. 2007). Transgenic approaches have been used for the simultaneous integration of genes involved in the enhancement of micronutrient concentration as well as reduction in the concentration of antinutrients, resulting in enhancing the bioavailability of nutrients in plants. Development of biofortified crops employing the transgenic approaches, involves a significant amount of time, effort, and resources during the development stage, but it is a cost-effective and sustainable approach in a long run (Garg et al., 2018). For its wide consumption, rice has been targeted to address the global challenge of malnutrition. Vitamin deficiency can be considered as one of the significant challenges that affect poor section of populations due to low affordability. Development of ‘Golden Rice’ with provitamin A (beta-carotene) was recognized as an important breakthrough in this direction by expressing genes encoding PSY and carotene desaturase (Datta et al. 2003). Folic acid (vitamin B9) is important during pregnancy and reducing anemia. Rice was genetically modified to increase folate content (up to 150-fold) by overexpressing genes encoding Arabidopsis GTP-cyclohydrolase I (GTPCHI) and aminodeoxy-chorismate synthase (ADCS) (Blancquaert et al. 2015). Rice has also been targeted to address the global challenge of iron deficiency anemia. Multiple reports indicated an enhance in iron content by overexpressing a number of genes (Lee et al. 2009). Similarly, zinc content was also raised in rice by overexpressing OsIRT1 and mugineic acid biosynthesis genes from barley (HvNAS1, HvNAS1, HvNAAT-A, HvNAAT-B, IDS3) (Lee and An 2009, Masuda et al. 2008).

Significant Progress and Prospects

It is widely acknowledged that biofortification presents a promising and cost effective agricultural strategy to enhance the nutritional status of malnourished populations globally. Approaches to biofortification, including crop breeding, targeted genetic modification, and mineral fertilizer application, offer significant potential for combatting mineral deficiencies in human diets. The development of biofortified food crops with enhanced nutrient content such as iron, zinc, selenium, and provitamin A has shown promise in addressing micronutrient deficiencies prevalent in both developing and developed nations. Over the past decade, both national and international initiatives have made substantial contributions toward achieving these goals. These efforts have resulted in the release of biofortified varieties across various crops, including rice, maize, wheat, potatoes, vegetables, and millets. The majority of these varieties have been developed through conventional breeding methods without sacrificing crop yield, making them readily accepted by both growers and consumers.

One of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals is the cultivation of nutritionally rich crop varieties with heightened levels of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, calcium, total protein, lysine, tryptophan, anthocyanin, provitamin A, and oleic acid, coupled with reduced levels of anti-nutritional factors. In the past decade, 142 biofortified varieties, spanning rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet, small millet, lentil, chickpea, and other crops, have been developed under the auspices of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Biofortified varieties typically do not impact ecological conditions, soil, or water requirements differently from traditional varieties. Additionally, they do not incur extra cultivation costs, and their economic output is comparable to traditional produce, leading to their widespread adoption. In India, the scale-up of biofortified varieties has gained momentum, with substantial quantities of breeder seeds being produced and distributed to public and private seed agencies for further multiplication and dissemination to farmers. Over the past six years, approximately 10 million hectares of land have been cultivated with biofortified rice, wheat, pearl millet, mustard, and lentil varieties.