There are 63 agriculture farms and 85 horticulture farms being operated by the Government and, of them, four agriculture farms and five horticulture farms are not in a condition for renovation.
Agriculture Minister and Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo stated this in the House in response to a question of Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and many other members on Wednesday.
The Minister said the Government is not taking any step to renovate the farms as they are not viable for profit from technical point of view.
The Minister further informed that a total of Rs 990.84 lakh had been spent for modernization of agriculture farms under the Rashtriya Krushi Vikash Yojana in 2010-11. A total of Rs 1,796.57 lakh had been sanctioned for 31 farms and Rs 1,262.49 has been spent so far.
He said originating seeds are produced in such agriculture and horticulture farms and these seeds are generally used for producing applicable seeds. But to meet needs of paddy and non-paddy seeds, the State imports seeds through NSC from other States, when required.
Most of the members expressed happiness over import of seeds from other States and urged the Minister to take steps for production of seeds in the farms.