Govt confident of meeting seeds target this kharif

As the State is yet to achieve self sufficiency in production of certified seeds for paddy crops and the organised seed sectors have not been able meet the farmers’ demand, the Agriculture Department has planned to go for seeds production in 13,000 hectares from next year.

While the annual requirement of paddy seeds of the State is about 25 lakh quintals, the Government could provide 4.47 lakh quintals during the last kharif.

The Union Agriculture Ministry has been pressing the State Government to achieve at least 50 per cent seeds replacement rate for higher productivity. The achievement of the State so far is less than 25 pc. The ‘seed village’ programme, which advocates self-sufficiency in production and distribution of quality seeds at village level, has failed to take off due to several factors.

The department has set a target to supply 6.72 lakh quintals of certified seeds to the farmers during this kharif as against 5.8 lakh quintals last year. Plans are afoot to supply 5.9 lakh quintals through public sale while 82,000 quintals will be used for demonstration of paddy cultivation, said Director, Agriculture and Food Production, Santh Gopalan.

Meanwhile, 4.71 lakh quintal of certified seeds have been procured by the Orissa State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) and 3.77 lakh quintals have been provided to the districts, he said. At least 1.5 lakh quintals each will be supplied through primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACSs) and private dealers, he added. The balance 77,000 quintals is for field demonstration purpose.

After procuring nearly 90,000 tonnes of seeds from Central agencies through MoU route, the State-run corporation is in the process of negotiating with the State Farm Corporation of India (SFCI) Limited, a Central government concern, for another one lakh quintals of seeds, sources in the seeds corporation said.

Gopalan exuded confidence to meet the seed supply target for this kharif.

On supply of chemical fertilisers, he said the stock is enough to meet the farmers’ demand till July 15. The State Government has placed fresh indents for July and August, the crucial two months for kharif activities and when the demand for fertilisers is more.