Indian Agriculture - Seeds and Plant Protection

Plant Protection:

Plant Protection continues to play a significant role in achieving targets of crop production. The major thrust areas of plant protection are promotion of Integrated Pest Management, ensuring availability of safe and quality pesticides for sustaining crop production from the ravages of pests and diseases, steamlining the quarantine measures for accelerating the introduction of new high-yielding crop varieties, besides eliminating the chances of entry of exotic pests and for human resource development including empowerment of women in plant protection skills.

Presently, two Central Sector Plan Schemes are being implemented to achieve the main objectives of Plant Protection strategy in the country:

Strengthening the Modernisation of Pest Management Approach in India: This scheme has the following four components:

• Promotion of Integrated Pest Management;


• Locust Control and Research;


• Training in Plant Protection; and


• Implementation of Insecticides Act.

Agricultural Mechanisation:

Strategies and programmes have been directed towards replacement of traditional and inefficient implements by improved ones, enabling the farmers to own tractors, power tillers, harvesters and other machines, availability of custom services, support services of human resource development, testing and evaluation and research and development.

A large industrial base for manufacturing of the agricultural machines has also been developed. Introduction of technologically advanced equipment through extension and demonstration besides institutional credit has also been taken up. Equipments for resource conservation have also been adopted by the farmers.

Under various Government sponsored schemes like Macro Management of Agriculture, On Farm Water Management, Technology Mission for Oilseeds and Pulses, Technology Mission on Horticulture and the Technology Mission on Cotton, financial assistance is provided to the farmers for the purchase of identified agricultural implements and machines.

Seeds:

Seed is a critical and basic input for enhancing agricultural production and productivity in different agro-climatic regions. Indian seed programme largely adheres to the limited generation system for seed multiplication.

The system recognises three generations, namely, breeder, foundation and certified seeds and provides adequate safeguards for quality assurance in the seed multiplication chain to maintain the purity of variety as it flows from the breeders to the farmers.

Indian seed programme includes the participation of Central and State Governments, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), State Agricultural Universities (SAU) system, public sector, co-operative sector and private sector institutions, Seed sector in India consists of two national level corporations, i.e., National Seeds Corporation (NSC) and State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI), 13 State Seed Corporations (SSCs) and about 100 major seed companies.

For quality control and certification, there are 22 State Seed Certification Agencies (SSCAs) and 101 State Seed Testing Laboratories (SSTLs). The private sector has started to play a significant role in the production and distribution of seeds. However, the organised seed sector particularly for food crops cereals continue to be dominated by the public sector.

Indian Agriculture - Seeds and Plant Protection