The seed certification programme under the Overseas Economic Cooperation and Development would help increase the expertise and income of farmers in the country by encouraging seed exports towards the goal of achieving 10% share in the international seed trade by 2020 from the present 1%, Agriculture Production Commissioner C. Parthasarathi said here on Friday.
Speaking at the inaugural session of five-day workshop for training to personnel of the public and private sector seed-producing agencies on OECD seed certification, he said exposure at the session would enhance their competence levels and lead to development of quality seed production systems.
Quality improvement
Further, it would be a good opportunity to improve the quality of domestic seed production, he said.
Experts on OECD seed certification from Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and South Africa would share their expertise and impart training in the international level seed certification.
Seed exports
The training would help increase the area under seed production and would also help in upgrading seed testing laboratories in the country to International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) standards.
Stating that training in OECD seed certification would help farmers’ organisations, farmer producer organisations and cooperatives to export seed to other countries directly in future, Mr. Parthasarathi said the workshop was being attended by 40 personnel of public sector seed agencies from 17 States and another 15 from private sector.
He explained that the second national task force meeting on seed certification held a couple of months ago here had recommended to the Centre updating field manuals and procedures to harmonise them with the standards of Germany, France, the Netherlands and other European Union countries, setting up seed export promotion council and taking up auditing of seed testing laboratories.
He said registration of seed production under Overseas Economic Cooperation and Development certification had crossed 6,000 acres this rabi season year in the State from 2,750 acres during the last eabi season, when 17,000 quintals of seed was exported to Egypt, Sudan, Philippines and a few other countries.
Commissioner of Agriculture M. Jaganmohan, and president of National Seed Association of India M. Prabhakar Rao spoke.
