Rama Krishna Sangem
Karnataka Agriculture Minister N Cheluvaraya Swamy visited Telangana International Seed Testing Authority (TISTA laboratory in Hyderabad on October 18, friday. TISTA was established by the Telangana Seed and Organic Certification Authority (TSSOCA) under the agriculture.department of Telangana government. Minister Cheluvaraya Swamy led a delegation from Karnataka.
TSSOCA director Dr K Keshavulu explained the functioning of TISTA and its salient features to the Karnataka minister and his delegation. The measures taken by Telangana in the field of agriculture in general and the seeds sector in specific were outlined on the occasion. Today, Telangana is one of major seed hubs in the country and benefiting farmers who seeds.
Minister Cheluvaraya Swamy lauded the efforts made by the Telangana government particularly for the welfare of farmers and agriculture sector on the whole. He mentioned about waiver of farm loans to farmers which is a first of its kinds in the country. “This is a revolutionary steps that will go a long way in strengthening agriculture and farmers who suffer from debt burden,” said the minister.
Complimented Telangana
Karnataka agriculture minister complimented his counterpart – Telangana agriculture minister and agriculture principal secretary for these efforts as well as the way TISTA was being run. Cheluvaraya Swamy was happy to see the latest technologies and methods available at the TISTA laboratory which would pave way for development of quality seeds at the intentional levels.
The minister said Karnataka too has been striving hard to promote quality seeds and their exports to the other countries. He sought the cooperation of Telangana government in developing the agriculture and seeds exports from his state. By getting recognition from ISTA, an international body, all testing labs in all states in the country can boost seed exports in the global markets.
