Every farmer's field is a laboratory, ICAR head presents a new model

According to Aaj Tak, Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), has presented a new approach to get the right benefit of scientific research and new technologies in agriculture. He has stated that scientific research and new technologies in agriculture get real benefits only when they reach the farmers' fields directly. Addressing the session 'Khetontak Pahunchti Prayogshala' on the first day, November 11, of the 'Kisan Tak Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026' organized by the India Today Group at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, he discussed the relationship between agriculture and science in detail.

Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR, made it clear in his address that continuous dialogue between agricultural research and farmers is extremely essential. Instead of imposing solutions prepared in laboratories directly on farmers, work has to be done by understanding their actual needs and the condition of their fields. He stated that now there is no need to just take laboratories to the fields, but the necessity has arisen to make the fields themselves a laboratory.

Explaining this idea, he said that every farmer's field will have to be developed as a living laboratory and learning laboratory. This means developing a system of continuous learning from the experiments taking place in the field, the farmers' own experiences, and the actual conditions there. He acknowledged that the process of extension in the agricultural sector, that is, taking agricultural research and technology to the farmers, has changed a lot, but there is still a lot of scope for improvement in it. The method of taking new technologies related to agriculture to the farmers should never be one-sided.

In his speech, Dr. Mangi Lal Jat laid special emphasis on the concept of 'Double Loop Learning'. He explained that a one-sided learning system alone is not proving sufficient in agriculture. Generally, scientists do research in laboratories and then convey its results to the farmers. But in this entire process, many times no effort is made to know what the actual need of the farmer is and what the condition of his field is.

In the method of double loop learning, there is continuous conversation and exchange of experiences between scientists and farmers. In this process, scientists try to understand the problems of farmers and farmers also share their experiences gained from new experiments and technologies. In this way, the process of learning from both sides remains active between research and agriculture. According to Dr. Jat, this mutual dialogue and participation is the most important link connecting the laboratory and the field, that is, lab and land. This type of approach can help a lot in preparing agricultural research according to the actual needs of the farmers.

In this address, he considered the active participation of the farming community to be extremely important. He said that such platforms connected with agriculture provide an opportunity for farmers and experts to share their experiences with each other. Through such events, great help is received in understanding the real challenges of agriculture closely and finding accurate solutions for them. He congratulated and expressed gratitude for this wonderful organization done by the India Today Group. According to him, gathering of experts and farmers from across the country and the world on a single platform is a very important step for the progress of the agricultural sector.