Government to Promote Newer Paddy and Pulse Varieties

The central government is on now to promote newer high-yielding varieties of pulses and paddy. Also it slowly phase out older varieties across the country. To promote newer varieties Government also offering several facilities such as discounts on seeds of the new varieties purchased from the government and subsidies on every tonne of crop produced.

A subsidy is announced by government, it is of Rs 8,000 per tonne of paddy produced with seed varieties that are less than 10-years-old. While this is a subsidy for grain production, farmers have also been offered better discounts and incentives for buying newer variety seeds from the agriculture department.

While seeds of certified high-yielding paddy varieties will be sold at a discount of Rs 10 per kg, discount of Rs 25 per kg will be offered on pulse seeds of varieties less than 15-years-old.

Deputy Director of agriculture, Mohammed Iqbal said "Farmers need to have bought seeds of the variety ADT 49 which is released in Ambasamudram from the agriculture department and produced the grains of that variety. The discounts on the seeds are also attractive because paddy seeds usually sold at Rs 24 per kg will cost only Rs 14 per kg and pulse seeds which cost Rs 85 to Rs 90 per kg will come down by a sizeable Rs 25 per kg, giving farmers an Rs 500 subsidy for a hectare."

The agriculture department not only promoting ADT 49 but also they are promoting six new varieties of pulses - which include CO7 and CO8 which is released in Coimbatore for green gram, CO(RG)7 for red gram, CO6 and VDN 5 for black gram and CO(CP)7 for cow pea.

Five of the six varieties which are released in Coimbatore in the last decade, they are believed to be suitable for the district's soil and climatic conditions and have additional benefits too.

Experts say such initiatives are critical to promote newer varieties. Farmers hesitate to try out the new seeds because they are too attached to age-old varieties. Often traders also reduce the farm gate price for grains of new rice varieties. So this situations a subsidy is advantageous.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/