Mysuru: CFTRI Director Prof. Ram Rajasekharan said that the Chia introduced by the Institute a couple of years ago is a good alternative and vegetarian source of Omega 3. The seed from Mexico introduced through Raitha Mitra has caught the fancy of many farmers.

He was speaking to a few journalists after inaugurating the Capsule Exhibition organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology at the CFTRI premises, as part of the CSIR Platinum Jubilee celebrations, here this morning.

He said that the crop could be cultivated in about 90 to 120 days and the yield is between 300 to 450 kgs per acre.

“Chia seeds can be mixed with all bakery products. There is also another seed, which CFTRI is popularising called Teff seed, which can be used with idli, dosa, upma, chapathi,” he said.

The achievements of CSIR is being showcased in the areas of social intervention, nurturing human resources, intellectual property and entrepreneurship, healthcare and generics to name a few.

“A farmers’ training course will be organised shortly to train the farmers in not only growing food but also on how to market them,” said Prof. Rajasekharan.

The exhibition is attracting huge crowd with students from schools and colleges visiting the expo. Today and tomorrow it is limited only to students, whereas on the last day (Sept.20), it is open to the public between 10 am and 5 pm. The entry and exit for the visitors will be from CFTRI North Gate opposite Akashvani.