PAU, rice millers join hands to curb sale of substandard seed

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 9

A meeting centred on the sale of hybrid and duplicate seeds of rice variety PR-126 was convened under the chairmanship of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Vice-Chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal.

HIGH PERCENTAGE OF BROKEN GRAIN IN HYBRID RICE

• PAU Vice-Chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal emphasised the importance of PAU-recommended rice varieties, highlighting their superior milling quality and extensive cultivation across 70 per cent of the state’s rice-growing areas.
• All India Rice Millers Association president Tarsem Lal Saini appreciated the milling quality of PAU’s PR-126 rice variety. However, he expressed his concern regarding the widespread sale of counterfeit seeds.
• He said rice millers were experiencing a number of difficulties with hybrid rice processing due to a high percentage of broken grains. According to him, the percentage of broken grains in rice hybrids is nearly two times more compared to PR-126, posing a significant challenge for the growers.

The gathering brought together stakeholders from various sectors to tackle the growing concerns over unauthentic seed sales and milling quality issues related to rice hybrids.

Gosal emphasised the importance of PAU-recommended rice varieties, highlighting their superior milling quality and extensive cultivation across 70 per cent of the state’s rice-growing areas. His remarks set the stage for a comprehensive discussion on the ongoing challenges facing the rice industry.

Among the attendees were key figures, including All India Rice Millers Association president Tarsem Lal Saini, and other representatives from the milling industry such as Ranjodh Singh Bains and Vikram Singh from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (Punjab), along with a team of rice scientists from the university.

Saini appreciated the milling quality of PAU’s PR-126 rice variety but expressed concern regarding the widespread sale of counterfeit seeds.

He said rice millers were experiencing a number of difficulties with hybrid rice processing due to a high percentage of broken grains. According to him, the percentage of broken grains in rice hybrids is nearly two times more compared to PR-126, posing a significant challenge for the growers.

The meeting’s discussions soon focused on the issue of spurious seed sales and the need for stricter enforcement. Saini urged the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare officials to implement stringent measures to curb the sale of unapproved hybrids. This suggestion received support from departmental representatives, who stressed that arthiyas should be held accountable for procuring unauthorised seeds that did not meet the moisture standards laid down by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

The VC commended the timely intervention by the Rice Millers Association and other stakeholders in addressing these concerns. He encouraged all parties to work collaboratively towards ensuring the integrity of rice seeds and improving milling quality, saying that such efforts were crucial for sustaining Punjab’s rice industry.

The meeting concluded with a commitment from all parties to intensify efforts in combating the sale of counterfeit seeds and enhancing the quality of rice hybrids.

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