Mr Ramesh Bhatt, Media Advisor to CM, Uttarakhand visits NBPGR, Bhowali

Mr Ramesh Bhatt, Media Advisor to CM, Uttarakhand visited ICAR-NBPGR Regional Station Bhowali along with Mr Shailendra Negi, Regional Head, TV18, Uttarakhand, and their team on 23rd July 2020. They were welcomed at the station after following social distancing protocols. The purpose of their visit was to explore the activities going on at the station and to document them for further perusal of Honorable CM, Mr Trivendra Singh Rawat. They also shot small documentary on the station activities related to conservation of plant germplasm as Field Gene Bank and Seed Gene Bank (MTS) and also documented the success stories regarding popularization of Kiwi fruit among the farmers of Uttarakhand, re-introduction of obsolete landraces into the farmer's field and also discussed the possibilities of developing successful models for the farmers so that they may be benefitted and motivated for taking up agriculture for livelihood. Dr Mamta Arya, Scientist and OIC, gave them detailed history of NBPGR and its mandate and also talked about the conservation and mainstreaming of local agro-biodiversity and their importance. Dr K.M. Rai, Scientist, talked about the potential of cultivating fruits like Kiwi, Malta, Peach and Nectarine and shared his views on how their cultivation can give farmers better returns. Through their media platform, the efforts of the bureau for conservation of agro-biodiversity and helping the farmers to improve their livelihoods through various ways were conveyed to pave a way towards Honorable PM's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" campaign.

(Source: Dr Mamta Arya, OIC, ICAR-NBPGR Regional Station Bhowali)