TUESDAY,
10 APRIL 2012 23:33
PNS
| BHUBANESWAR
HITS:
22
·
·
·
The Odisha State Seeds
Corporation (OSCC) will extend the facility of seed outlets to panchayat level.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting held at the State secretariat on
Tuesday under the chairmanship of chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik.
Reviewing the
present seeds supply position in the State, Patnaik advised the corporation to
ensure timely supply of seeds by making all other arrangements like processing,
bagging, and transport well ahead of time.
Discussions in the
meeting revealed that the corporation has appointed 2,254 dealers in different
parts of the State through an advertisement. Apart from this, the corporation
at present is being supported by 628 sales centres of the Agriculture Department.
It was decided at
the meeting to involve PACS, Pani Panchayats, Watershed Associations, Self Help
Groups and farmers’ clubs in sale of seeds. Target was also set to ensure 100
per cent supply through these cooperative institutions and dealers in a phased
manner so that the field officers of the Agriculture Department can give more
time for prescribed extension works.
It was also
revealed at the meeting that there had been 281 per cent growth in seeds
turn-over during the last decade. In 1999-2000, the OSCC had a turn-over of
Rs 38.91 crore
which increased to Rs 148.48 crore in 2010-11. Similarly, there has been
108 per cent increase in seed production over the same period. In 1999-2000,
seed production was around 2.14 lakh quintals which increased to 4.45 lakh
quintals in 2010-11.
While the
corporation is on its way to achieve self sufficiency in pulse production and
is expected to produce 10,000 quintals of pulse in the coming year, it has also
become self sufficient in fulfilling demand of brinjal and tomato seeds with
high-yielding open-pollinated varieties of the State.
Chief secretary
Patnaik directed the corporation to develop a three-year perspective seed plan
taking into account the requirement of all kinds of farmers in different agro
climatic zones. Target was fixed to have 50,000 hectares of hybrid maize
coverage this year against last year’s 35,000 hectares.
Patnaik advised the
principal secretary of the Agriculture Department to ensure that the
corporation lifts 100 per cent breeder seeds developed by research institutes
of the State. He advised them to ensure timely payment to seed farmers through
expeditious management of cash-flow system.
No comments:
Post a Comment