Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, May 7, 2015 :

Odisha on Thursday signed a three-year tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Seeds Corporation (NSC), International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Odisha State Seeds Corporation Ltd (OSSCL) to make the state self-reliant in pulses and oilseed productions.

The MoU was signed in the presence of principal secretary, Agriculture, Rajesh Verma; director Agriculture, Pramod Kumar Meherda; chairman, Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) Hariballav Mishra and senior scientist, ICRISAT Myer G Mula.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry minister Pradeep Maharathy told media persons after signing of the MoU that quality seeds can result in a 20 percent increase in the production.

Stating that the seed replacement ratio in respect of pulses and oilseeds in the state was less than four percent last year, he said though there is a demand of arhar, green gram, black gram and groundnut to the tune of 1101, 14800, 16480 and 50,000 quintals respectively in the current fiscal, the maximum production of these pulses expected from both the corporations is 300, 5000 and 20,000 quintals respectively.

“To bridge the gap, the Agriculture department has decided to produce the select non-paddy seeds inside the state by signing this tripartite agreement so that 80 percent of the total seeds would be produced in our own state,” the minister pointed out.

“As per the MoU, NSC and ICRISAT would produce the required seeds for the state while OSSC would supply the seeds to the farmers through Krishi Vikash Kendraa,” the minister added.