Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy has stated that the Telangana government is working towards making agriculture one of the most sought-after economic activity by making it remunerative and engaging as much population as possible in it and other allied areas.
Speaking at a meeting meant for women writers organised here on Saturday by the Agriculture Department and the Seed Development Corporation - on the topic -- awareness on the importance of seed in agriculture, the Minister observed that treating agriculture as an unremunerative activity is like terming the existence of mankind as useless. Stating that the seed would play a vital role in agriculture sector, he noted that Telangana boasts of most suitable soils for quality seed production in the world and the seed produced here has the highest germination rate in any soil across the world.
The Minister said about 400 seed companies are operating from the State, making a business of about ₹5,000 crore a year. Explaining about the day’s event, the Minister said it was taken up to spread importance of seed in agriculture through short stories and poems with the help of writers so that the information reaches a large number of farmers. He stated that the government is spending about ₹70,000 crore on agriculture and allied sectors every year. Principal Secretary (Agriculture) C. Parthasarathi explained the importance of seed in agriculture, seed production and supply system with the help of a powerpoint presentation.
Managing Director of Telangana State Seed Development Corporation K. Keshavulu explained the importance of quality seed with gene purity for high yields and longer storage towards achieving food and nutritional security.
Director of Department of Culture M. Harikrishna and others spoke.
Later, the Minister released books titled Sangidimuntha written by Jwalitha, Pupa by Sujana Raju, Brundavanam by Akella Venkatasubbalaxmi.
