Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday asked the agriculture experts, rice exporters and the State Agriculture Department to jointly chalk out a strategy for preparing a ‘Seed Development Plan’ for Basmati.
Presiding over a meeting of Basmati Development Board, Badal asked the Financial Commissioner Development (FCD) to constitute a Committee comprising eminent agriculture experts, progressive rice exporters and officers of the State Agriculture Department to undertake stipulated contract farming for the production of high yielding variety (HYV) and disease resistant varieties of Basmati seeds, especially of 1509 and 1121 at an assured minimum price mutually decided by the committee.
“The rice exporters should encourage farmers to do contract farming within the vicinity of their rice mills thereby developing pockets or clusters of HYV of basmati seeds so that these could be supplied to the farmers interested in sowing Basmati,” he said.Badal said that this would not only propel the basmati cultivation but would also give impetus to its export.The Chief Minister said that the Seed Development Plan of Basmati Rice should be conceived in such a manner keeping in view of the blueprint of agriculture diversification program in which the State Government has targeted to bring 10-12 lakh hectare under Basmati cultivation from the next season.