New Delhi: The Government has an objective to ensure the country’s food security, provide nutritious food to the people, and ensure that farming remains a profitable business for farmers, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Asian Seed Congress 2025, the Union Minister said that the Government has focused on setting a target to increase productivity per hectare, providing good seeds to farmers, and reducing production costs.
He also informed that the government highly prioritises ensuring fair prices for farmers’ produce, compensating them when needed, and focusing on the diversification of farming practices.
Chouhan stated that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and various state institutions are making efforts to develop bio-fortified crop varieties as well as varieties resilient to climate change, to overcome the serious problem of malnutrition.
The Union Minister emphatically stated that the contribution of the private sector, along with public sector institutions, is necessary for the development of high-quality seeds.
He said that the seeds coming from the private sector for the Indian agricultural sector are costly, and since the majority of our farmers belong to the deprived class, they cannot afford these seeds. Therefore, Chouhan appealed to the private sector to make the prices of seeds more affordable.
The Union Minister said that if seeds that do not require changing every year are made available to the farmers, a major concern of our farming community will be relieved. He also instructed companies to address the problem of poor-quality seeds with no or very low germination capacity and take action against those responsible.
Chouhan further appealed to every stakeholder of the agriculture sector to log in to the SATHI Portal, launched by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and utilise the facilities available on this portal.
He said that the development of climate-resilient varieties is the need of the hour.
“Our country has 15 agro-climatic zones, and therefore, we need to develop varieties that can withstand drought, heat, and pesticides,” the Union minister said.
He informed that two varieties of rice have been developed using the advanced technique of Genome Editing, which will increase productivity by 19 to 40 per cent with less water usage and also reduce carbon emissions.
Additionally, while speaking to seed producers at the event, he expressed the need for more research and development in the field of coarse grains.
The minister appealed to private companies to present their issues before the government.
Chouhan asked companies to consider how the time taken to bring new seeds to the market can be reduced, and he agreed to make efforts to reduce the time required for testing these seeds.
“The cost of testing is excessive, and the government is ready to work jointly with the private sector in this regard,” the minister stated.
(IANS)
