Cabinet okays entities' merger for good seeds to farmers

In order to benefit farmers, the cabinet Thursday approved the merger of two public sector units, the State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI) and the National Seeds Corporation (NSC), a statement released by the government said.

The move aims to provide quality, affordable seeds to every farmer, no matter how remote his residence in the country.

The statement said the move will serve the interest of farmers and enable them to handle better the changing requirements of the agriculture sector.

The merged entity is expected to occupy the prime position in the Indian seed industry by the year 2020.

The combined turnover would increase from Rs.1,180 crore to Rs.2,046 crore by 2017, and be about Rs.3,112 crore by 2020, the statement said.