Agri Min Chouhan inaugurates NSC's veg, flower seed processing plant at Pusa campus

New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday inaugurated the National Seeds Corporation's (NSC) vegetable and flower seed processing and packaging unit in the national capital.

The new state-of-the-art unit is located at Pusa Complex.

He also virtually inaugurated five NSC seed processing facilities located at Bareilly, Dharwad, Hassan, Suratgarh and Raichur, according to an official statement.

"The vegetable seed processing plant at Beej Bhawan, Pusa, New Delhi, has a processing capacity of 1 tonne per hour, while the other five NSC plants have a capacity of 4 tonnes per hour each," it added.

During the event, Chouhan 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.

The minister emphasised that it is crucial for quality seeds to reach small and marginal farmers.

Chouhan said 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," he said.

Chouhan asked the NSC to undertake innovations in regional languages to make its services more accessible to farmers and curb the arbitrary practices of private companies.

"Private players have their own role, but public corporations have their distinct importance. The functioning of State Seed Development Corporations also needs to be improved. Considering all these aspects, NSC should work with a clear roadmap," he said.

The event was attended by Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi, NSC CMD and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Joint Secretary Ajit Kumar Sahu, and senior officials from NSC and the Agriculture Ministry.

Established in 1963, state-owned NSC has been playing a pivotal role in producing and supplying quality seeds to farmers across the country. PTI MJH MJH BAL BAL