123

Project Proposal on Establishment of Seed Processing Infrastructure Facilities for Vegetable Crops
Under National Horticulture Mission Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

By

M/s ------------------------------------------------------------------

Address: -------------------------------------------------------Submitted to
NHM, GOI New Delhi through SHM Govt. of Uttar Pradesh

124

Application for the Grant of Scheme

1.

Title of the Scheme

Establishment of seed processing infrastructure facilities for vegetable crops

2. a. Name and address of Institute / University b. Name and address of Head of the Dept / Institute / University 3. Name of the Principal Investigator (Brief biodata enclosed) 4. a. Name of Co-Principal Investigator 5. (Brief biodata enclosed) Actual location of project 6. 7. Duration of the project Total project cost : : : : : : :

125

Introduction Seed is the most basic input in agriculture; therefore, the sustained supply of the quality seeds will continue to be a key factor for augmenting agricultural growth. The importance of seed has been recognized from the time immemorial Subijam Sukshetre Jayate Sampadyate (Manu smriti in Sanskrit) i.e., good seed in good field yields abundantly. Seed multiplication/production is a two-tier system, i.e. pre-harvest and post harvest. Each phase is important over the other. If due attention is not paid during the first phase, probably there is no way left for getting good quality seed. The same is true with second phase; hard earned produce may be destroyed by various agents during post harvest period. Seed is a living entity and it should be kept alive till it is consumed (sown). Post harvest phase of seed can be divided in three phases a) conditioning or processing b) packing and c) storage. Seed conditioning is responsible for the physical quality of the seed lot, alteration of moisture content to safe moisture level, removing foreign material, spurious seed and undesirable seed components and improving the planting condition of seed by use of chemical protectants. During this phase, the seed passes through a number of operations such as cleaning, grading, separation, drying or humidifying and chemical treatment. Each operation should be judiciously taken up to get quality seed with maximum recovery. Rationale The proposed project basically aims at to develop the seed processing infrastructure facility for vegetable crops in the Department of Horticulture at PROJECT for improving the availability and strength of seed chain. With the growth of economic liberalization and facilitative environment for import of best germplasms available in the world, there has been substantial progress in the development of private seed industry. However, their main domain still remains the low volume high value seeds which cater the needs of only few selected farmers. The business of high volume low value seeds as well as highly priced seed of tomato, chilli and brinjal can be provided at a much lower price by the Public sector organizations to the growers. The major bottleneck in production of vegetables in the region is the non-availability of quality seeds at affordable price. This project will enable us to provide quality seeds of vegetables to the backward and downtrodden farmers of eastern UP at a cheaper rate which will ultimately affect the production and productivity of vegetables in the region. This will further regulate the price of vegetables in the marketing channels, allowing farmers to get a reasonable profit on one hand and consumer getting the produce at a reasonable cost on the other hand. The distribution of seeds is limited with the public sector organizations due to financial limitations. Realizing the need for increased seed production with a view to enhance seed replacement rates and particularly in the high volume low value crops the Horticultural Mission proposed in the X Plan to provide assistance for boosting seed production in the public sector and here our effort will be rewarded. We propose for creation of seed processing infrastructure facility relating to seed cleaning, grading, processing, seed treating, packaging and storage units as well as for seed testing facilities. The project is playing a key role in providing quality seeds of many field crops (wheat, rice and maize), pulses (gram, pigeon pea, mung and urd), oil seed (mustard) and vegetable crops (French bean, pea and okra). This has brought about revolutionary change particularly in the production of field crops and pulses in the region as well as adjoining areas of Bihar. However due to paucity of funds much is needed to be done in the vegetable seed production sector which could be only done on a very small scale at present. The approximate quantity of vegetable seeds produced by the PROJECT is around 5.0 q in pea, 5.0 q in French bean and 1.0 q in okra which is very insufficient to meet the demand of the farmers of the region. The project is already having a seed processing plant for field crops under Mega Seed Production Project of ICAR, New Delhi. There are four seed processing plants in Varanasi division of which only one is of vegetable crops established at the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi. But, they process only their own produced vegetable seeds. The status of area and production of vegetable seeds in Varanasi division is not available with any Govt. organization. However, some records of seed production of vegetables are available with the Seed Certification Agency, and as per their records they have certified the seeds of pea variety, Arkel (6.0 q), Azad Pea 1 (3.0 q) and Azad Pea 3 (31.5 q) and lobia variety, CP

126

4 (7.38q) during the year 2008 for NSC growers. They have also provided some records of current year vegetable seed production programme of Horticulture Department i.e. pea variety, Azad Pea 1 (5 ha), bottle gourd (2 ha) and okra (1 ha). The Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi produces seeds of different vegetables every year which are sold / distributed after processing in their own plant. These seeds include breeder as well as truthful level seeds. The breeder seeds are produced as per the indents from Deputy Commissioners Seeds, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI and truthful level seeds are produced as per the need of local vegetable growers. Last year IIVR produced approximately 25500 kg seeds of different vegetables. So far, there is no system in operation at IIVR to process the seeds of vegetable growers. It is evident from the above facts that there is dearth of seed processing plants in the entire Varanasi division. The farmers interested in seed production programme have nowhere to go and so they get their seeds processed locally and sell them to fake seed companies without proper processing, though their seeds are to a larger extent quality seed. This has led to cropping up of fake seed companies like mushroom which is ultimately adversely affecting the produce. Hence, it is imminent that the establishment of seed processing infrastructures facilities for vegetable crops at PROJECT will go a long way in providing quality seeds to the Govt. organizations as well as vegetable growers of the region. Further, it will augment the production of vegetables on one hand and provide nutritional security to the people of the region on the other hand. It will also improve the socio-economic condition of the vegetable growers. Objective The main objectives of the proposed project are as follows: 1. To establish ton capacity vegetable seed processing infrastructure facility. 2. To ensure processing of quality seed at affordable cost to the farmers. 3. To promote capacity-building and Human Resource Development at all levels. History The PROJECT has been taking a lead role in developing, producing and processing the seeds of many field crops, pulses and oil seeds since long back. The university has developed a chain of production and supply of these seeds very effectively. However, the production of vegetable seeds is not upto the desired level due to lack of funds and support from central/state agencies. The existing strong infrastructure base of the university will provide the needed platform for its sustainable implementation. Expected Out Come from the Project The facilities developed for production and processing of vegetable seeds will continue uninterrupted by creating a revolving fund through seed processing and generating income which will be further utilized for the purpose. Development of seed infrastructure facility at PROJECT will provide a platform to boost up the production of quality seed and enhance the vegetable production in the eastern region. This will enable the poor and downtrodden farmers to uplift their socio-economic condition by increasing production per unit area on one hand and provide nutritional security on the other hand. This will also help in making quality seed available to the farmers. The expected output/benefit during the very first year would be something around Rs. 1.5 lakhs after processing and selling of the seeds produced at PROJECT. However, the exact amount and C:B ratio can only be ascertained after the work takes off and the quantity of seed procured from the growers for processing by the unit. Area and Production of Vegetable Seed at PROJECT The existing area under vegetable seed production in PROJECT is about 1.5 ha with production of approximately 11.0 q seeds of pea, French bean and okra.

127

Proposed Plan for Production of Vegetable Seeds for Three Years at Crop Pea French bean Okra Total Area 1.0 1.0 0.5 2.5 Production of seed (q) 1 year 2nd year 3rd year 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 05.0 05.0 05.0 25.0 25.0 25.0
st

Total 30.0 30.0 15.0 75.0

Proposed Plan for Processing of Vegetable Seeds for Three Years (Tentative) Crop Processing rate per q without packing materials (Rs) * 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Quantity of process seeds (q) 1st year 2nd year 3rd year Total (q) Amount (Rs)

Pea French bean Okra Tomato Brinjal Chilli Coriander Palak

10.0 10.0 10.0 30.0 3000 10.0 10.0 10.0 30.0 3000 05.0 05.0 05.0 15.0 1500 The farmers of village ..............................................produce TL seeds of tomato, okra, pea, coriander, palak, chilli etc. crops. However, the quantity and amount of seed can only be ascertained after receiving it for processing during the first year.

* The packing material and packing charges will be charged extra on the basis of requirement of the customers (viz., q, kg, g etc.). The above mentioned quantity of seeds of Pea, French bean and Okra will be produced by PROJECT. Moreover, the seed produced by vegetable growers of nearby areas will also processed on charged basis for creation of revolving funds so that continuous running of seed processing unit can be ensured. Availability of processed seeds The quality seed thus produced under the scheme would be provided on priority basis to the SHM/DOH at government rate for its further distribution among the farmers for enhancing the productivity of quality vegetables in the region. Facilities available Office rooms, land and technical support are available in the Department. Some equipments like seed germinator, deep freezer, seed counter, etc. are available in the Department. Duration of the Project: Five Year

Budget and Facilities Required

S.No. A. 1. Particulars Quantity Amount (Rs. lakhs) Justification For removing the dockage, under size seeds, separating the unwanted seeds components from the seed mass and grading For separating the seeds according to width and

Equipment / machinery/ infrastructure facilities Air Screen Cleaner-cum-Grader 1

2.

Length Separator

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Seed Drying Unit /Seed Dryer Seed moisture meter Seed Treater Other connected equipments / accessories/different sizes sieve Seed Testing Laboratory Equipments (Gamete divider, Seed Grader, Diachonoscope, etc.) Plate farm balance - 200 kg Electronic Balance - 5 kg Seed storage bins Packing machine/ Bag Closer/ packing material Room (20x10) Godown (20x20) Drying plat farm (20x20) Others equipments Total (A) Operational Cost (Expenses involved in processing, packaging and handling of seed, chemicals, glassware, TA/POL/hiring of vehicle, repair, skilled & unskilled labours, two iron display boards, plates, stationary, photocopies, photography, report preparation etc.) Total (B) Grand Total (A+B)

1 -

128 thickness For removing moisture from seeds For measuring the moisture of seeds For treating the seeds For sieving the seeds For testing the seeds

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15

1 1 15 1 1 1 1

For weighing of seeds For weighing seeds to fill in to packets To store the seed in airtight containers For packing of seed For installation of equipments To store the seed in storage bins To dry seed in large quantity

200.00

Total cost of project : Rs 200.00 lakhs