My Visit to Department of Seed Certification and Organic Certification, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu

Introduction

As a part of Live Project, I had the opportunity to visit the Office of Assistant Director of Agriculture, Seed and Organic Certification at District Collectorate in Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu. The purpose of the visit was to interact with the ADA(SC) to gain insights into the functions of the office and the work done for the vulnerable communities.

Overview of the Office

The Office of Seed and Organic Certification is responsible for the implementation of various certification programs related to seeds and organic products in Namakkal District. It plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and authenticity of seeds and organic produce available in the market.

Functions of the office

• The office oversees the certification processes for seeds, ensuring that they meet the required standards for quality and purity.
• The certification of organic products involves verifying that they have been produced in compliance with organic farming practices.
• The office emphasis on quality control to maintain the integrity of certified seed and organic farming practices and products through regular inspections, testing, and monitoring to uphold the standards set by regulatory authorities.
• The office actively engages in awareness and outreach programs to educate farmers and stakeholders about the importance of certified seeds and organic farming to enhance market access for certified products.
• The office collaborates with agricultural research institutions, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building in the field of seed and organic products.

The establishments for seed and organic certification in Tamil Nadu include,

• Directorate of Seed Certification at Chennai. It is the certification agency responsible for certifying the quality of seed production. They ensure genetic purity and identity of the notified kind or variety through periodic inspections at various crop stages.
• Department of Seed Certification and Organic Certification carries out the certification work for various notified varieties and hybrids in accordance with the provisions of the law. They play a crucial role in ensuring seed quality and genetic purity.
• Tamil Nadu Organic Certification Department is a certification body for organic production and is accredited by APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi to certify organic farming practices and products.

Seed Certification

The ADA(SC), Namakkal is assisted by 2 Seed Certification Officers covering 15 blocks of the district.

Functions of the office,

• Check the maintenance of the agriculture field by farmers.
• Provide quality seeds by Block outlet.

Process,

Interested Farmers are selected by Agriculture Extension Centre for seed production and after harvest sample seeds are collected by Seed Certification Officers for testing at Seed Testing Laboratory at Agriculture Extension Centre. The details are sent to ADA(SC) of the district for Certification. The qualified seeds are sent to Block Outlets for distribution. All the details are uploaded in the SPECS Portal (Seed Production Enforcement and Certification System) for citizen information.

Seeds distributed in Namakkal district include,

• Groundnut
• Sorghum
• Ragi
• Green gram
• Black gram
• Caster
• Paddy

Organic certification

Interested farmers register with Tracenet Portal of APEDA (Agricultural and Processed food product Export Development Authority). The district office inspects if the registered farmers maintain NPOP (National Program for Organic Production) Standards and upload the report to Tracenet Portal. SCOPE certificate is given by TN organic certification department at directorate at Chennai to the farmers.

Schemes

• All the activities are based on Block level supporting local governance through enforcement wing. These schemes aim to promote sustainable agriculture practices, ensure the quality and authenticity of seeds and organic produce, and provide market access for certified product.
• National Food Security Mission (NFSM) scheme aims to promote organic cultivation across the country and provides support to Indian farmers.
• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) scheme promotes organic farming and encourages farmers to adopt organic practices while providing financial assistance and training to farmers.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) scheme supports various agricultural activities, including organic farming, providing financial assistance for organic farming projects.

Agriculture in Namakkal

With geographical area of 3,36,719 ha, the district has net cultivated area is 1,41,537 ha, out of which 60939 ha are irrigated and 80,598 ha are rainfed. The district receives average annual rainfall of 716.54 mm from Northeast Monsoon. It comes under Northwestern Agroclimatic zone and western Agroclimatic zone with temperature ranging from maximum of 40’C and minimum of 18’C. The area is dominated by red soil with pH ranging from 5.2 to 8.7. Major sources of irrigation are canal, tank, tube well, lift irrigation and open well.

Infrastructure facilities under Tamil Nadu government to assist seed and organic certification,

• Soil Testing Laboratory-Namakkal with objective to educate the farmers to go for soil health card based chemical fertilizer application and to control the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers that not only affect the soil health status and reduces the produce quality but also increases the cost of cultivation without any additional benefits.
• Bio-Control Laboratory-Namakkal, with objective of production and distribution of Bio-Control agents is to reduce the farmers dependence on chemical pesticides there by reducing the cost of cultivation and increasing the profit.
• Mobile Soil Testing Laboratory, based on its analytical report Soil health cards are generated and distributed to the farmers. The objective is to educate the farmers to go for soil health card based chemical fertilizer application.
• Farmer Training Centre-Namakkal with the objective to provide village level training to all the farmers for effective transfer of advanced technologies.
• Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) with the objective is to strengthen Research – Extension – Farmer linkages, technology transfer through demonstrations, training and exposure visit.

Challenges

The visit shed light on the challenges faced by the office,

• Lack of personnel at block level for inspection and collection of seed samples.
• Less awareness among the farmers on training and certification programs.
• Low integration of technology at field level.

Recommendations

• Continued support and investment directed towards the office to enhance its capacity for certification activities.
• Recruitment of merited personnel for technical and collection activities.
• Greater collaboration with agricultural stakeholders for the integration of technology to strengthen the impact of certification programs.
• Increase the official strength at block level for effective monitoring of certification programs.
• Need for continuous training and capacity building.
• Creating awareness among the farmers about the certification programs
• Need for integration of technology for improved monitoring and traceability.

Conclusion

The visit to the Office of Seed and Organic Certification in Namakkal District provided valuable insights into the functions of the office and the work done for vulnerable communities. The office’s dedication to upholding quality standards and promoting sustainable agriculture is commendable. It is evident that their efforts contribute to the overall development of the agricultural sector in the region.

Overall, the visit was informative and served as a reminder of the essential role played by certification offices in ensuring the integrity of agricultural products and promoting sustainable practices.