Govt inks pact with ICRISAT for new drought-resistant crops

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Seed Corporation Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) on Monday to introduce drought-resistant varieties of crops in the state for the next three years.

The agreement was inked in the presence of Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy.

“The KSSCL supplies on an average 3.5 lakh quintals of seeds of different crop varieties annually. With this MoU, the KSSCL looks to strengthen its product portfolio by introducing new improved varieties in sorghum, groundnut, chickpea, pigeon pea, bajra, and minor millets for the benefit of the state farmers,” a statement released by the Agriculture minister’s office explained.

The statement added that these new varieties will be validated by Varietal Research and Development Center (VRDC), KSSC, Dharwad and in collaboration with the state agricultural universities for identification and release of varieties in different crops.

“During the three-year agreement period, drought and disease resistant cultivars will be introduced on fast track mode to benefit the farmers of the state which in turn helps to increase the average productivity of these crops in the state,” the statement explained.

In a related development, Cheluvarayaswamy met a 13-member delegation of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to organise – Namma Rajya Namma Krishi Sammelana – to give boost in promoting agro-based industries across the state.

The Agriculture minister assured that the state government would encourage local industrialists to set up agro-based industries instead of depending on other countries.

The minister assured that the state government would come out with a policy on the lines of Andhra Pradesh to allow private industrialists to import better quality seeds from foreign countries. “With Bengaluru emerging on a global map, the state can also set up Regional Plant Quarantine centers on the lines of Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi to facilitate importing seeds from outside by simplifying import regulations.” the minister stated.

He also added that the state government would come out with a policy on lines of Maharashtra to enable sugar farmers to use sugarcane harvesting equipment in the state.

“The Agriculture department has procured about 150 sugarcane harvesting equipment under the farm mechanization scheme. However, none of the farmers came forward to register due to substantial rise in the registration cost. Farmers have sought the government’s intervention to reduce the registration cost,” he said.