Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on October 27 inaugurated the newly established state-of-the-art vegetable and flower seed processing and packaging unit of the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) at Pusa Institute in New Delhi and also virtually inaugurated five NSC seed processing plants located at Bareilly, Dharwad, Hassan, Suratgarh and Raichur.
The vegetable seed processing plant at Beej Bhawan in the Pusa complex has a processing capacity of one tonne per hour, while the other five NSC plants have a capacity of four tonnes per hour each. These facilities are equipped with advanced technologies to ensure the availability of high-quality seeds to farmers and to enhance the quality of seed production across the country.
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During the programme, Chouhan also launched the ‘Seed Management 2.0’ system and an online seed booking platform for farmers. Through this platform, farmers will now be able to book their seed requirements online, ensuring greater transparency and accessibility. He emphasised that it is crucial for quality seeds to reach small and marginal farmers for enhancing their incomes. He stated that the new facilities will ensure easy access to high-quality seeds, significantly improving agricultural productivity.
“These new plants will fulfil farmers’ requirements, which is extremely important. During the recently conducted ‘Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan’, the maximum number of complaints received were related to spurious and substandard seeds. Hence, ensuring the supply of quality seeds is essential, and NSC has a vital role to play in this. The government is taking strict measures in this regard,” the Union Minister said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the Government’s commitment to enhance India’s domestic food processing capacity, underscoring its critical role in ensuring national security, rural prosperity and economic resilience.