KARACHI: In a bid to enhance per acre yield, the Sindh government Sindh is taking all-out efforts to provide quality certified seed of improved varieties to the growers at affordable price.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said this while presiding over a meeting of Sindh Seed Corporation (SSC) here at the Chief Minister’s House. The meeting was attended by Senior Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Minister for Agriculture Ali Nawaz Maher, Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo, Agriculture Secretary Shahid Gulzar Shaikh, SSC Managing Director Dr Iqbal Saeed and others.
Briefing the chief minister, Shahid Gulzar Shaikh said that there are eight basic seed farms of SSC. They include 2,898 acres Lodra Farm (Shikarpur district), 372 acre Pai Sakrand Farm (Nawabshah), 1,041 acre Setharja Farm (Khairpur), 122 acre Kotdiji Farm (Khairpur), 1,474 acre Ghotki Fram, 112.27 acre Ruk Farm (Ghotki), 100 ace Sangi Farm (Sukkur) and 110 acre Lakhi Rarm (Shikarpur).
SSC Managing Director Dr Iqbal Saeed said that different seed varieties have been provided to growers. The wheat varieties provided so far are TD-I, Kiran 95, Imdad 05, SKD-I and Benazir.
He said that during the last four years Rs 140.266 million have been spent on all the eight farms for developing seed varieties against which Rs 286.448 million were earned. Similarly, Rs 507.484 was spent on the marketing of the seed against which Rs 638.004 million income was generated. In other words during said period, the SSC utilised Rs 647.751 million against which an income of Rs 924.452 million was generated, he told the meeting.
Appreciating the efforts of the SSC, the chief minister urged to grow such seed verities, which require less water and can survive floods. “Manila and Thailand have developed such varieties of rice which can survive floods. The seedling of such rice verities survive even after remaining in water for eight days,” the chief minister quoted.
