All India Coordinated Research Project on Tuber Crops (AICRPTC) bestowed upon with main goal of generating region-specific value added varieties, agrotechniques and production systems technologies, integrated pest and disease management and transfer of production enhancing technologies, along with creating awareness among the farming community, policy makers and researchers. Food security challenges brighten the prospects of tuber and root crops, both nationally and internationally. AICRPTC covers 17 States and one Union Territory under the project covering major tuber and root crops. Newly approved centers viz., CAU, lmphal, MPUAT, Udaipur and University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot were actively involved as regular centers with funds under the AICRPTC.

There were many selections/accessions identified for farmers adoption, especially in cassava, sweet potato (both in high starch and in high carotene), taro, yams and yam bean. Very good collection of germ plasm of 24 species of tuber and root crops were characterized, catalogued and maintained at different centers as gene - bank for developing region specific varieties with value addition. Production and protection strategies were formulated, standardized and validated for different crops at different regions. The centers were doing an excellent service to the tuber crops farmers in creating the awareness of importance of specific package of cultivation of tuber crops. They have exhibited with live specimens, charts, and pamphlets in the regional language at different farmers meets/melas. The centers have distributed quality-planting materials of improved and proven varieties to the farmers of different regions.