TISTA gets ISTA nod for quality seeds: Niranjan Reddy

Hyderabad: The government got approval from ISTA of Switzerland which built the first of its kind international seed-testing centre (TISTA) at a cost of Rs 7 crore in the State, said Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy.

The International Seed Testing Agency (ISTA) of Switzerland offered its nod for TISTA after auditing and necessary inspections, the minister said. The lab in the State got international seed testing agency approval, he claimed.

"It is the first of its kind seed-testing centre as the international agency". The minister said Telangana built the seed-testing lab by spending Rs 7 crore with all modern and scientific equipment for quality seeds and to help farmers. "It is the second seed-testing centre with latest facilities and modern equipment in the country", Reddy stated.

There are 130 seed-testing labs in government, 50 private labs and 26 notified labs in the country. Of them, eight labs were notified and ISTA gave nod to two such labs including TISTA, he said, adding that the State will push for quality use of seeds, and avoid spurious seeds with the new seed-testing centre. Reddy said farmers will be encouraged to benefit from farm activities.