District-wise melas to supply quality seeds to farmers soon

Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said the Annual Seed Mela (ASM) being organised at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University will be held at every district headquarters in the State from the next year.

Addressing the gathering after the inauguration of annual seed mela organised at PJTSAU here on Friday, he said the district-wise seed melas would also supply quality seeds to the farmers.

He said that the initiatives of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao with a foresight to improve the agriculture sector in the State have brought tremendous and revolutionary changes in order to make agriculture profitable.

Taking cue from Telangana, many States have been implementing similar schemes. The Minister said that the Farmer Loan Wavier Scheme (FLWS) will be implemented once the election code comes to an end.

Niranjan Reddy said that since the agriculture sector, which is providing large scale employment opportunities to the people of the State, government is committed to strengthen it by integrating various schemes to ensure that farmers would be benefitted from the initiatives.

PJTSAU Vice-Chancellor Dr V Praveen Rao said organising the Annual Seed Mela-2019 was the university's efforts to supply quality seed to the farmers.

He said the university is also planning to release eight new varieties in rice, pulses, and maize crops in next month. He thanked the farmers who are continuously encouraging the university scientists and adopted newer technologies and new varieties.

He added that for the benefit of the farmers simultaneously seed melas are being organised at Regional Agricultural Research Stations (RARS) at Jagitial, Warangal and Palem in Nagarkurnool District.

Farmers in large numbers attending and purchasing seeds have briefed the suitability of different varieties of seeds to their lands.

This year a dedicated stall has been arranged to explain the new technologies to the farmers and how farmers can also avail the seed subsidy being provided by the State government by purchasing the seeds at the mela.

The Annual Seed Mela-2019 is jointly organised by the State departments of agriculture, horticulture, and local ICAR Research Institutes like Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR), Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Indian Institute of Oilseed Research (IIOR), Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), ATARI, NAARM, Directorate of Poultry, National Seeds Corporation (NSC), Telangana State Seed Development Corporation (TSSDC), Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Agency (TSSOCA) and Veterinary and Horticultural Universities.

Dr Vishnuvardhan Reddy, Dr SR Oleti, Dr Vilas A Tonapi, Dr Ravindrachary, Dr Prasad, Director Seeds Dr Pradeep, Director TSSOCA Dr Keshavulu were among those who interacted with the farmers.