Department of Agricultural Research (DAR)

Department of Agricultural Research is a government department under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) whose vision is food security and nutrition with the impact of innovative advanced crop variety and production technology research.

DAR has 6 divisions including 16 sections of crops and supporting sections.  Now, newly establish units in DAR were Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Research Section, Post-Harvest Technology Research Section, Rice Biopark Unit, Farmer Channel and Agricultural Microbiology Research Section.

Divisions of DAR are

• Rice and Other Cereal Crop Division
• Oil Seed Crops and Food Legumes Division
• Industrial Crops and Horticulture Division
• Soil/Water Utilization and Agricultural Engineering Division
• Agronomy, Agricultural Economics and Statistics Division
• Biotechnology, Plant Genetic Resources and Plant Protection Division

Policy of DAR

1. Development of new crop varieties and hybrids with high yield and good quality adapted to agro-ecological and climatic conditions and increasing crop production by using quality seeds.
2. Application of biotechnology and molecular techniques in breeding of mother stem cells.
3. Farmers participatory breeding and selection of new crop varieties.
4. Diverse genetic resources including wild types, landraces, and released varieties conservation and pre-breeding preparation of crops in the Seed Bank.
5. Integrated pest and diseases management researches for the safety of consumers and environment.
6. Farmers participatory researches of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good manufacturing Practices (GMP) from seed to post-harvest of crops.
7. Establishment of National Agricultural Research and Extension System in corporation with concerned agencies in order to strengthen research and development of sustainable  utilization of natural resources, organic farming, and conservation agriculture to increase  agricultural production.
8. Research of climate smart agriculture, crop rotation, mixed cropping, intercropping for effective utilization of soil and water, agro-forestry, and cropping pattern.
9. Development of research methods and producers and publication of research manual for effective breeding and experimentation by researchers.
10. Making, revising and enaction of agricultural research law and regulations in accordance with time to time.
11. Encouragement of private and non-governmental organizations to participate in research and extension services.
12. Continuous training and strengthening capability of agricultural researchers.