During the celebration of its 31st Foundation Day and Kisan Mela on August 21, 2024, the ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) emphasized its vision of "Banana Diversity and Wealth from Waste."

Dr. R. Selvarajan, Director of NRCB, in his presidential address, highlighted the centre’s achievements over the past year and its vision for the future. Among the key achievements are the release of new banana varieties—Kaveri Kanchan, known for its high carotenoid content, and Kaveri Vaman, a dwarf variety suitable for terrace gardening. Additionally, the centre has identified a low glycemic index banana variety with a value of 51, making it suitable for diabetic patients. Other notable developments include a Grand Naine mutants resistant to the Fusarium wilt TR 4 pathogen. The NRCB also plans to commence commercial production of tissue culture plants for these released varieties. During the current year, two farmers’ varieties, Numaran and Manoranjitham, were registered with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), New Delhi. The centre received two patents and licensed technologies to 34 entrepreneurs. In terms of capacity development, NRCB organized 87 training programs, benefitting more than 6,000 stakeholders. The centre had reached out 3,57,000 stakeholders through exhibitions and seminars.

The Chief Guest, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Chairperson of PPV&FRA, Government of India, extended his best wishes to ICAR-NRCB for its commendable research and development in the banana sector. He emphasized the importance of precision agriculture in reducing water, fertilizer, pesticide, and carbon footprints in banana cultivation. He also highlighted the potential of microbes in agriculture, particularly in natural farming. Dr. Mohapatra urged the adoption of technologies developed by NRCB at the farmer’s level and stressed the importance of characterizing and promoting local banana varieties for value addition. He announced that NRCB has been designated as a field gene bank for conserving banana germplasm with significant funding from PPV&FRA. He also encouraged farmers and social communities to come forward to register and protect traditional landraces, with PPV&FRA offering a Community Conservation Award worth ₹10 lakhs for such initiatives.

Guest of Honour, Dr. V. Palanimuthu, Director of NIFTEM, Thanjavur, encouraged farmers to take advantage of NIFTEM’s schemes for value addition. He pointed out the export potential in the banana sector and emphasized the importance of product development, branding, and marketing.

Dr. V. Venkatasubramanian, Director of ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Bengaluru, described banana as a sacred plant and stressed the need to motivate youth to pursue careers in agriculture and agri-entrepreneurship. He also highlighted the significance of branding farmers' products for effective marketing.

Dr. Shaik N. Meera, Director of ICAR-ATARI, Hyderabad, praised Indian banana farmers for making the country a global leader in banana production. He discussed the importance of germplasm collection, the preservation of local varieties, biofortification, and setting standards for value-added products to ensure quality and better marketability.

Veteran Banana Farmer, Mr. Mahadhanapuram V. Rajaram and Mr. Ajeethan, Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Banana Producer Organization, delivered their felicitations during the occasion.
To honor the contributions of various stakeholders, 12 awards were presented during the event, including Best Banana Farmer, Best Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), Best Conservator, Best Tissue Culture Company, Lifetime Achievement Award, Best Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Best Entrepreneur and Best Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives of Banana, Best Technical Staff, and Best Banana Bunch Display. The event attracted around 1,000 participants from across the state and featured panel discussion on banana biodiversity, wealth from banana waste, and banana production and protection technologies, with active participation from farmers, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders. Additionally, 31 exhibition stalls were part of the program.

The event commenced with a welcome address by Dr. R. Thangavelu, Principal Scientist at ICAR-NRCB, Tiruchirappalli, and concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. C. Karpagam, Principal Scientist at ICAR-NRCB, Tiruchirappalli.