The Government of India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is supporting sunflower cultivation and production throughout the country. In this context, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, had thorough deliberations with state governments and experts in a meeting.
Shri Tomar stated that, following Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s lead, sunflower would be pushed in a deliberate manner, similar to how pulses-oilseeds and the National Oil Palm Mission were launched in the country.A thorough action plan would be established in this respect after analysing the ideas of the states and experts. He declared that the roadmap will be worked up by a sub-committee comprised of all key state governments and stakeholders such as industry, seed unions, and other interested authorities, as well as the Commissioner of Agriculture and other interested officials. He urged states to enhance sunflower output and pledged state governments of help for seeds, micro-irrigation aid, and other initiatives.
SUNFLOWER
Senior officials from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and other states attended the high-level conference at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi, which was chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar. Shri Tomar also met with a number of key players in the oilseeds industry, including the National Dairy Development Board, the National Seeds Association of India, the Federation of Seed Industry of India, and private sector entrepreneurs. Shri Kailash Chaudhary and Ms. Shobha Karandlaje, Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, and Agriculture Secretary Shri Sanjay Agarwal were also present at the meeting. Smt. Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, shed insights on the sunflower growing region and productivity. Sunflower is a major oilseed crop that is mostly farmed in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana. Other states with sunflower potential include Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
In the discussion, the U.P. government expressed interest in expanding sunflower production with the use of micro-irrigation, stating that the mustard success model should be reproduced for sunflower. Karnataka plans to continue its area expansion initiative in marginal areas, particularly during the Rabi season, with guaranteed irrigation facilities to boost farmer income. In the Western Ghats region of the state
The Karnataka government also called for soybean production with intercropping of important crops such as tur, soybean, and maize, and expressed interest in extending sunflower acreage on the Bajra model. Through the growth of TRFA land in the paddy area, especially when borewells are erected, Andhra Pradesh has demonstrated interest in sunflower production. At the same time, Punjab is prepared to expand its land area by diverting paddy fields. Haryana intends to increase the potato fallow area to around 30000 acres. Important oilseeds stakeholders have sought a special mini-mission for sunflower, as well as seed supply, disease-pest management, market assistance, and insurance help.
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