Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "The real strength of agricultural production lies in high-quality, reliable and certified seed. He stated that a new and modern 'Seed Policy' is the need of the hour for the state. As landholdings are continuously shrinking, the focus should not be only on acreage but on increasing 'per-hectare productivity'".
CM also directed that a seed policy be formulated with priority on the development of high-yielding, disease-resistant and climate-resilient varieties, capable of addressing the agricultural challenges of the coming years.
While discussing the seed policy, the Chief Minister stressed the need to prepare a concrete roadmap for the next five years to take the state’s seed production capacity, quality and availability to a new level. He said, "Maximum use of modern technology is essential across the entire process of seed production, processing and storage, so that there is no shortage of certified seed and farmers are empowered."
To ensure a reliable seed supply, the Chief Minister directed that 'end-to-end traceability' of every seed be made mandatory. He made it clear that no laxity would be tolerated with regard to adulterated or substandard seed. Every seed packet reaching farmers must be certified, tested and fully compliant with prescribed standards.
He emphasised the need to bring agricultural universities, ICAR institutions, UPCAR and the private seed industry onto a common platform to accelerate seed research, innovation and the variety-release process.
To promote crop diversification, the Chief Minister called for a special strategy to ensure the availability of high-quality seed for pulses, oilseeds, maize, pearl millet, sorghum and horticultural crops. In this context, he directed that work be expedited to establish at least 'Five Seed Parks' in the state over the next five years. These Seed Parks will be integrated complexes equipped with facilities for production, processing, quality testing and storage.
The Chief Minister instructed, "All Krishi Vigyan Kendras in the state be directly linked with seed development programmes to establish strong coordination between research, training and the dissemination of technology at the field level."
He further directed that, in line with the state’s nine climatic zones, one KVK in each zone be developed as a 'Centre of Excellence' to generate high-quality seed and technical solutions for region-specific crops. He also emphasised involving progressive farmers in seed development programmes to ensure effective integration of local experience with modern technology.
The Chief Minister also stressed enhancing energy efficiency in agriculture. He directed that maximum tubewells be connected with solarisation, reducing irrigation costs for farmers and increasing the use of clean energy in agriculture. Along with this, he instructed that solar panel manufacturing units within the state be given priority, stating that promoting local manufacturing will strengthen employment, investment and agricultural infrastructure.
