The 11th National Seed Congress on Recent Advances in Research on Quality Seeds for Self Sufficiency in Oilseeds and Pulses from 21-23 August 2022 was organised by Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (RVSKVV), Gwalior, one of the partners in the UN Environment implemented GEF project being implemented in four agro eco regions of India. Jai Rana, National Project coordinator and Sonal Dsouza, Senior Officer-Project Management participated in the Congress.
The Congress provided a forum to review the progress made in seed science and technology; issues related to production of high-quality seeds, processing, testing, certification, quality control, seed policies and regulations, variety release and registration, seed quality management in seed multiplication systems, seed storage, marketing and distribution, field and laboratory techniques in seed quality assurance and seed business management with emphasis on oilseeds and pulses.
The Congress was inaugurated by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India also joined the programme remotely and addressed the gathering.
In the Technical Session, Jai Rana made a presentation on ‘Mainstreaming Local Seed Systems – why and how’. An exhibition was also put up during the Congress where local landraces being promoted under the UNEP-GEF project were displayed.
