8/9/2019 Rice Today vol. 14, no. 2 A schoolboy at heart:
Celebrated Indian scientist speaks his mind
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18 Rice Today April-June 2015
Yet, we failed to reach the targetedgenotype for years. It took
us nearly 24years to nally succeed in developingPusa Basmati 1
(PB1) , the rst-everhigh-yielding semidwarf basmativariety,
released in 1989. Just like withthe miracle high-yielding IR8,
whichwould not have sustained us hadwe not come up with
progressivelyimproved versions of it withacceptable grain quality
and resistanceto insect pests and diseases, PB1 alsoprovided the
genetic base for evolving be er and be er varieties and
hybrids.
Breeding for the rice-wheat rotationI was also very interested
indeveloping an appropriate rice variety
that would enable timely harvestand thus timely planting of
wheatin Punjab, Haryana, and westernU ar Pradesh. With the fertile
soilthere, high fertilizer applicationcauses modern rice varieties
to lodge before harvest hence the rice cannot be combine-harvested.
Keeping thisproblem in mind, we had introducedPusa 44 in 1994.
Pusa 44 does not lodge at all because of its strong straw.
Thisvariety has helped sustain the rice-
wheat system by enabling combineharvesting that clears the
eldquickly for proper land preparationand timely wheat planting.
This iswhy the rice-wheat rotation in theregion is such a great
success. Byvirtue of this trait along with its long,slender, and
clean grains as well asresistance to most pests and diseases,it is
still popular in the region. Eventoday, there is no variety yet
toreplace Pusa 44.
Adding biotechnology tothe toolboxI looked into the prospects of
theapplication of biotech tools for directedand speedy rice
improvement. Aftera full day’s discussion with me,Gary Toenniessen,
representingthe Rockefeller Foundation, agreedto support a rice
biotechnologyprogram in India, if we organized andcoordinated it.
Thus, the India RiceBiotechnology Network started. For10 years, I
coordinated this programinvolving rice researchers engaged in
biotechnology.
Under this program, theFoundation helped India by trainingour
young researchers in advancedlaboratories abroad and providing
all needed equipment. Althoughthe funding support was not high,
Imust admit that, if not for that initialsupport, it would not have
beenpossible for India to have built its rice biotechnology
research to the levelwe have today.
The future challenge for India:keeping rice farming
sustainableThe challenge for the next 20 yearsand beyond is
achieving productiontargets on a sustainable basis—ecologi -
cally and economically. Whereas theunfolding technological
advances willhopefully make farming ecologicallysecure, the real
challenge is going to be in making farming economicallyviable
because it is becoming increas-ingly a losing profession.
Farmers are not a happy lot inthis country today. They don’t
havesecure livelihood opportunities inthe rural areas because rice
farmingand agriculture, in general, are not
professionally a ractive. Thus, thereis a large-scale migration
of ruralfamilies to urban areas in search of be er livelihood
opportunities. Itused to be 60–40%, rural to urbanpopulation; now,
the reverse is beingre ected.
Today, many farmers do notwant to see their sons becomingfarmers
like them. They want themto go for be er-paid jobs in the cities.A
recent survey conducted acrossIndia showed that more than 60%of the
farmers don’t nd farmingsocioeconomically a ractive. Theyfeel they
are losers and they want tomigrate to urban areas. So, unless
wecome up with appropriate strategiesand policy measures to
sustainfarmers in farming, it is not goingto be easy to meet our
future fooddemands.
A schoolboy in retirement, freelysharing knowledgeNow in
retirement, among otherthings, I am an adjunct professor atmy old
institute, IARI. Whenever I goto Delhi, I give lectures to
studentsand interact with the sta on manyagricultural issues. I
really enjoythis kind of activity in retirement.My wife says, “You
are retired, but
you still act like a schoolboy.” Maybeso; however, for a
scientist, there isreally nothing like retirement. I nowhave time
to read and think aboutthe new developments in science andshare
those ideas with students andyounger colleagues.
Many companies have askedme, “Why don’t you do some sort
ofconsultancy?—whatever you want,we will arrange.” I said, no. I
don’tneed nancial support from anybody.I have my pension; I have my
lifetime
savings to survive and act as I wish.If anybody wants a free
consultancy,there’s no problem. I am available.Otherwise, I am
leading a peacefullife!
Mr. He el is editor-in-chief ofRiceToday.
See some video clips from Dr. Siddiq'sinterview at h
p://tinyurl.com/Siddiq-interview.
E . A .
S I D D I Q
A R C H I V E
BASMATI RICE is believed to have been cultivated on the Indian
Subcontinent for centuries. The term is ofSanskrit origin
("vasmati"), meaning "fragrant".
