Emphasizing on the new seed policy, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that high quality and certified seeds are the key to agricultural production. Instructions were given to strengthen farming through seed traceability, seed park, crop diversification and solar energy.
Lucknow. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the real strength of agricultural production lies in high quality, reliable and certified seeds. He clarified that in view of the changing times and agricultural challenges, it is the need of the hour to prepare a new and modern seed policy for Uttar Pradesh.
The Chief Minister said that due to continuously decreasing land holdings, now full attention will have to be paid not only on the area of farming but on increasing the productivity per hectare. For this, priority should be given to seeds of high yielding, disease-resistant and climate-tolerant varieties.
Instructions to prepare a concrete roadmap of 5 years for the new seed policy
Discussing the seed policy, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed that a concrete and practical roadmap should be prepared for the next five years to take the state’s seed production capacity, quality and availability to new heights. He said that maximum use of modern technology should be made in the entire chain of seed production, processing and storage, so that there is no shortage of certified seeds and farmers can become self-reliant.
End-to-end traceability of every seed mandatory, strictness on adulteration
The Chief Minister directed to mandatorily implement end-to-end traceability of every seed to ensure reliable seed supply. He bluntly said that any laxity towards adulterated or non-standard seeds will not be tolerated. He directed that every seed packet reaching the farmers should be fully certified, tested and meeting the quality standards.
Work on common platform with agricultural universities, ICAR and private sector
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that agricultural universities, ICAR institutes, Upkar and private seed industry should be brought on a common platform to accelerate seed research and innovation. He said that by speeding up the process of development, testing and release of varieties, better seeds will be available to the farmers on time and agricultural production will increase.
Emphasis on pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereal seeds for crop diversification.
To promote crop diversification, the Chief Minister directed to formulate a special strategy to ensure availability of high quality seeds of pulses, oilseeds, maize, millet, jowar and horticulture crops. He said that these crops will increase the income of farmers and make agriculture more sustainable.
Instructions to establish 5 seed parks in the state
The Chief Minister directed to work rapidly towards setting up at least five ‘Seed Parks’ in the state in the next five years. These seed parks will be integrated complexes with all modern facilities for seed production, processing, quality testing and storage.
Emphasis on connecting agricultural science centers with seed development
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed that all the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) of the state should be directly linked to the seed development programmes, so that strong coordination can be created between research, training and dissemination of technology at the farm-level. He also said that according to the nine climatic zones of the state, each Krishi Vigyan Kendra should be developed as a Center of Excellence, so that better seeds and technical solutions can be prepared for region-specific crops.
Seed development will be strengthened with the participation of progressive farmers
The Chief Minister also stressed on ensuring active participation of progressive farmers in seed development programmes. He said that better coordination of local experience and modern technology will improve both seed quality and productivity.
Promotion of energy efficiency and solar energy in agriculture
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also laid special emphasis on increasing energy efficiency in the agriculture sector. He said that more and more tube wells should be connected to solar energy so that the irrigation expenses of farmers are reduced and the use of clean energy increases. While giving instructions to give priority to the solar panel units established in the state, he said that this will strengthen local employment, investment and agricultural infrastructure.