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| Relevance
for Certified Seeds in Agriculture Production |
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| Paddy
- wheat rotation occupies about 71% of the
cropped area in Punjab. The sustainability
of this crop rotation is becoming more &
more uncertain. However, with technological
upgradation, yields of various crops can
be increased significantly. At present the
seed replacement ratio in the State is 11%
both for paddy and cotton and 4.5 % for
wheat (as against the national target of
15%, 20% & 33% for wheat, paddy and
cotton respectively by 2000). High yielding
varieties of seeds must be renewed every
3 years to maintain the yields of crops.
In case of wheat, use of certified seeds
has been estimated to give an additional
output of one quintal per acre / 2.5quintals
per hectare. Thus the total area of 33.88
lac hectares under wheat can provide Punjab
farmers with an additional production of
about 7 lac tons per season at the rate
of 100% use of certified seeds. This value
comes to Rs.300 crore at MSP of Rs.600/-
per quintal with assumption of 25% reduction
in the cost of certified seeds. This amount
is estimated to rise to about Rs.500-600
crore for all crops with the use of certified
seeds only. . |
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