A Memorandum of Association (MOA) has been signed between India and Philippines to start a Rice Institute in Varanasi, according to a govt press release.
Elaborating its importance Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said that the Center will be the first international Center in the eastern India and it will play a major role in harnessing and sustaining rice production in the region.
The rich biodiversity of India can be utilised to develop special rice varieties. This will help India to achieve higher per hectare yields and improved nutritional contents, said Singh.
The Centre will support in adopting value chain based production system in the country. This will reduce wastage, add value and generate higher income for the farmers. The farmers in Eastern India will benefit in particular, besides those in South Asian and African countries, he underlined.