Principal Secretary (Agriculture) C. Parthasarathi said that, along with its plans to develop a seed park in the State, Seed Export Promotion Council would be set up in Hyderabad to promote export of seed through a single window system.

While speaking at the inauguration of the five-day practical workshop of International (OECD) Seed Certification, he said Telangana had exported 1,700 tonnes of seed to Sudan, Egypt and Philippines last year and they had plans to export about 2,600 tonnes this year. The Agriculture Secretary stated that, production of seed for export under OECD was certified in 2,251 acres during 2016-17 and it was done in 2,567 acres in 2017-18.

Similarly, the number of seed companies involved in the export had increased to nine from four. Stating that there was no database on seed production agencies/ companies in the public and private sector in the country, Mr. Parthasarathi said the proposal to prepare such data was made to the Union Agriculture Ministry.

Former chairman of Protection of Plant Varieties & farmers’ Rights Authority R.R. Hanchinal, executives of Indo-German Project on Seed Sector Development also spoke.

Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority, the designated agency for certification of seed in 10 States and Union Territories, K. Keshavulu said officers from all the five designated seed certification agencies in the country were participating in the workshop along with the representatives of private seed companies and public sector seed development entities in the country.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/