Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India is working to expand the area and production of sunflowers in the country. In this regard, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, met with state governments and experts to hold detailed discussions.
Tomar stated during the meeting that, similar to how pulses-oilseeds and the National Oil Palm Mission were launched in the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sunflower will be promoted in a planned manner. A detailed action plan in this regard will be prepared after reviewing the suggestions of the states and experts.
He stated that the roadmap would be developed by a sub-committee comprised of all major state governments and stakeholders such as industry, seed unions, and so on, as well as the Agriculture Commissioner and other concerned officials. Urging states to increase sunflower production, he also assured state governments of support in the form of seeds, micro-irrigation assistance to industries, and so on.
Senior officials from Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and other states attended the high-level meeting, which was held at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi and was presided over by Union Agriculture Minister Tomar.
Union Minister Tomar also met with private-sector entrepreneurs from the National Dairy Development Board, the National Seeds Association of India, the Federation of Seed Industry of India, and other organizations.
The meeting was also attended by Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Kailash Chaudhary and Shobha Karandlaje, as well as Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal. During the meeting, Joint Secretary Shubha Thakur shed light on the area and production of sunflowers.
Sunflower is an important oilseed crop grown primarily in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana. Sunflower cultivation is also practised in other states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
During the meeting, the U.P. government expressed interest in expanding sunflower areas with the help of micro-irrigation, stating that the success model of mustard must be replicated for sunflowers. Karnataka intends to continue the area expansion programme in marginal lands, particularly during the Rabi season, with guaranteed irrigation facilities to boost farmer income.
The Karnataka government also advocated for soybean cultivation with intercropping of major crops such as tur, soybean, and maize in the state's Western Ghats region, and expressed interest in expanding the sunflower area along the lines of the Bajra programme.
Andhra Pradesh has expressed interest in sunflower cultivation through the expansion of TRFA land in paddy areas, particularly where borewells have been installed. At the same time, Punjab is prepared for area expansion through paddy diversion. Haryana intends to expand the potato fallow area by approximately 30000 acres. Important stakeholders in the oilseeds sector have requested a separate mini-mission for sunflower seed availability, disease-pest control, market support, and insurance support.
