Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal stated the government is in the process of bringing a new seed law

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On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal stated that in order to increase the domestic production of oilseeds and cut reliability on import of edible oil, the scientists should develop high-yielding varieties of seeds, especially that of soyabean. He stressed on creating the world’s best traceability system to ensure the availability of quality seeds to the farmers across the nation which became a major highlight of the 10th National Seed Congress.The secretary also focused on the importance to boost seed exports.

The overall imports of vegetable oils during November 2018 to September 2019 raised by 3 per cent to 14.17 million tonne, as per the industry data. Agarwal stated the government is in the process of bringing a new seed law and asked the experts to give suggestions. The main theme of the seed congress is ‘Quality Seed for farmers’ Prosperity’.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Tirlochan Mohapatra stated that the country has become self sufficient in foodgrain production. Significantly, the pulses’ output has increased in the last few years, he highlighted and said there was a need to increase oilseeds output. Mohapatra talked about DNA barcoding and stressed on developing protocol for DNA profiling, in order to ensure seed quality.