ICRISAT chief urges farmers to grow climate-resilient crops amid El Nino

ICRISAT Director General Dr Himanshu Pathak urged farmers to adopt climate-resilient crops, including pulses, oilseeds and millets, to tackle the impact of El Nino. Speaking at the India Seed Trade and Innovation Summit, he stressed the importance of quality seeds and sustainable agriculture.

Sangareddy: ICRISAT Director General Dr Himanshu Pathak said farmers must focus on cultivating climate-resilient crops to overcome the challenges posed by El Nino. As the country did not receive normal rainfall due to the impact of El Nino during the monsoon, Dr Pathak suggested that farmers cultivate pulses, oilseeds and millets while avoiding water-intensive crops such as paddy.

Interacting with mediapersons on the sidelines of the India Seed Trade and Innovation Summit-2026 held at the ICRISAT campus in Patancheru on Thursday, the ICRISAT Director General said farmers should also focus on short-duration crops to tackle the impact of El Nino. Dr Pathak observed that Krishi Vigyan Kendras, agricultural universities and seed companies must play a crucial role in helping farmers adapt to the situation.

---

However, he said the governments had prepared a contingency plan to tackle a delayed monsoon. Earlier, addressing farmers, representatives of seed companies and other stakeholders on advancing global seed trade, innovation and sustainable agriculture during the inaugural session of the summit, Dr Pathak said the country and its farmers would prosper only if quality seeds and healthy soil were available. He said the Green Revolution would not have been realised without the availability of quality seeds.

Stating that India was the largest seed hub in the world, the Director General said there were 550 registered seed companies in the country, apart from 17,000 seed growers. He said seed replacement had increased considerably over the last two decades. Retired IAS officer Sunil Sharma, Kaveri University Vice-Chancellor Dr V Praveen Rao, Chair of Agriculture and Allied Sectors Council, AP and TG, Association of Chambers of Industry in India (ASSOCHAM), Venkatram Vasantavada, former Director of Indian Institute of Millets Dr Vilas Tonapi, Deputy Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, DS Rajora and others were present.