In order to check the sale of substandard seeds and pesticides, the Centre is preparing a stringent law, which will be brought during the Budget session of Parliament, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Thursday.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day National Conclave of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Chouhan highlighted challenges faced by farmers and the agriculture sector.
“Our per hectare production of several crops is still very low. We have our limitations. GM (genetically modified) seeds are not allowed in our country. We have been constantly making efforts through research and development to ensure that our farmers get good quality seeds…. We are going to bring in a Seed Act very soon. It will have provisions for stringent action against those who have sold substandard seeds. We will bring the Seed Act as well as the Pesticides Act. It is being made more stringent… It will be our endeavour to introduce this in the Budget Session of Parliament,” Chouhan said.
Discussing the gap between price paid by the consumers and the amount received by the farmers, Chouhan said that farmers often do not get fair prices for their produce, while consumers pay more. “This gap must be reduced,” he said.
Chouhan urged the FPOs to work seriously for the welfare of small farmers and share practical suggestions with the ministry, assuring that suitable actions will be taken. He appealed to FPOs to increase turnover within a year, expand membership, and enhance credibility and quality to ensure maximum benefit to member farmers.
Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said that one of the challenges of the agriculture sector in the country is that the size of the land holding is small and farmers buy input at retail prices while they sell their produce at wholesale price. Due to this farmers’ income does not increase to the desired level, he said.
“Now, some of the FPOs have got input licenses and are providing seed, fertilizers and pesticides to farmers at a cheaper rate, Chaturvedi said. He also said that the government is working with states to ensure that FPOs also get stalls in Mandis (market yards).
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Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, said that technical sessions on various issues including seed production, packaging and marketing will be held on the concluding day on Friday. Besides, a buyer-seller meet has also been organised, she said.
Purna Chandra Kishan, Joint Secretary in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, said that 600 farmers from over 250 FPOs participated in the conclave.
