VARANASI, June 28 -- Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday emphasized that the 'Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan' is not just a ritual, but a concerted effort by scientists to improve the condition of farmers. He was speaking at a review meeting with scientists of the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) in Varanasi, stated a release. The minister praised the success of the Abhiyan, launched across the country, and highlighted the need to improve the quality and reach of food production to farmers. He emphasised the importance of genome editing, seed treatment, organic farming, and natural farming in increasing vegetable production. Chouhan also emphasised the need to protect farmers from problems like fake fertilisers, substandard seeds, and pesticides, and to develop a plan to address these issues. He appreciated the 'Lab to Land' programme, which enables research to be conducted according to the needs of farmers. The minister stressed on the need to increase the shelf life of tomatoes, develop crops that can be exported and used to make dry powder, collect data on scientific facts related to organic and traditional farming and expedite gene-editing research....