Friday, May 07, 2010
It will concentrate on large-scale production of seeds: VC

• Rs. 57 crore allocated for improving facilities on the university campus
• Rs. 2.7 crore released for promoting integrated farming system

Raichur: The University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Raichur, has been implementing integrated farming system with the involvement of farmers at its research stations to achieve profitable production of foodgrains and horticultural crops.

The university proposes to sign MoUs with the internationally reputed agriculture universities in the U.K., the U.S. and other countries for mutual exchange of studies on subjects including modern farming, biotechnology and climate change. B.V. Patil, Vice-Chancellor of the UAS, Raichur, told presspersons here on Thursday that farmers had been facing problem in procuring adequate quantity of genuine seeds. To overcome the problem, the university would concentrate on large-scale production of seeds by giving impetus for integrated farming system in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, he said.

Dr. Patil said the State Government had made a budgetary allocation of Rs. 57 crore, including Rs. 25 crore under non-plan head, this year for improving facilities on the university campus and for taking up research on modern agriculture.

The Government has also released Rs. 2.7 crore for the university to promote integrated farming system.
The university has identified 1 lakh acres of cultivable land in Gulbarga district for introducing integrated cropping system for seed production. Farmers would be given training in seed production and cultivation of high-yield crops, with the involvement of progressive farmers, Dr. Patil said.

It has been proposed to take up large-scale seed production of groundnut, red gram, Bengal gram and paddy.
On the proposal on taking over the Central Seed Farm near Javalgera village in Sindhanur taluk of Raichur district, he said the State Government had been urged to take up the issue with the Union Government.