The Telangana Seed and Organic Seed Certification Authority (TSSOCA) will for the first time organise an exclusive five-day workshop on International Standards Testing Association-based seed sampling, purity and germination from December 5.
In a press release, Secretary-Agriculture, C. Parthasarathi said such a workshop was the need of the hour to help the State develop expertise in international testing standards in-house. The Telangana Government, he said, was in the process of setting up a laboratory at an estimated cost of Rs. 6 crore on 50:50 cost-sharing between the Centre and State, he said.
The facility would help in increasing seed exports and international seed trade, he said. Mr. Parthasarathi disclosed that the Telangan State Seed Certification Agency was selected as Referral Designated Authority for South India and that the State needed to be updated to become a global seed hub.
Land for the International Standard Seed Testing Laboratory was already allotted on the campus of the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University at Rajendra Nagar, Mr. Parthasarathi said.
