BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Wednesday informed the Assembly that the seed replacement rate of paddy in the State in 2021-22 was 32.92 per cent and the government has provided over 4.75 lakh quintal of certified seeds to the farmers.
Responding to a question from BJD's Amar Prasad Satpathy, Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Minister Ranendra Prasad Swain said the paddy seeds requirement of the State is around 13,27,760 quintal for 2022-23 kharif season and 4,75,244 quintal of seeds has been provided to the farmers so far.
The Minister said that around 5,200 farmers of the State have registered with the Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) for production and supply of certified paddy seeds. The government has given contracts to some private agencies for supplying quality paddy seeds.
Responding to Opposition allegation that seeds supplied by the private agencies are not germinating, the Minister said The department is yet to get any report of non-germination of seeds supplied to farmers.