25 May 2025, Nagpur
Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, visited the ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute (ICAR-CCRI), Nagpur, today and chaired a comprehensive review meeting to assess the institute's progress and future plans.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Chouhan lauded ICAR-CCRI for its significant contributions to citrus research and development in India. He emphasized the need to enhance the institute's outreach and foster deeper collaborations with citrus growers across the country.
Underscoring the critical role of citriculture in boosting farmers’ income, the Minister urged technology-driven, farmer-centric interventions to tackle the key challenges in citrus cultivation. He asked the scientists to focus on increasing productivity, developing export-quality varieties, expanding the production of clean planting material, and promoting value-added processing of citrus waste and juices.
Shri Chouhan also urged for active involvement of ICAR-CCRI scientists in the upcoming Pre-Kharif Campaign under the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan, scheduled from 29 May to 12 June 2025. He highlighted that the campaign aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and grassroots farming, ensuring that innovations effectively reach the farmers to transform Indian agriculture.
Dr. Dilip Ghosh, Director, ICAR-CCRI, presented a detailed report on ICAR-CCRI’s recent achievements, ongoing research activities, and its strategic roadmap aligned with the national development vision Viksit Bharat @ 2047. Key highlights included the development of improved citrus varieties, sustainable production technologies, value addition initiatives, and farmer-oriented capacity-building programs.
Dr. V. B. Patel, Assistant Director General (Horticultural Sciences), ICAR, along with the institute’s scientists and staff, were also present.
In recognition of excellence in citrus cultivation, five progressive citrus farmers from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh were felicitated by the Minister for their exemplary adoption of ICAR-CCRI technologies and outstanding achievements in the field.
The visit concluded with an interactive session where the Minister engaged with scientists on emerging innovation areas and the future direction of the citrus sector in alignment with the Viksit Bharat @ 2047 goals. He also toured the institute's citrus nursery and appreciated the ongoing efforts in producing high-quality, disease-free planting material.
(Source: ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur)
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