Telangana is hosting the triennial International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) Congress in Hyderabad.
a. Jaipur, Rajasthan
b. Nagpur, Maharashtra
c. Telangana, Hyderabad
d. Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Details:
- The ISTA Congress is being held for the first time in Asia.
- The Congress is being held from 26th June to 3rd July 2019 and is expected to help the state to implement its plans into actions.
- The eight-day conference is being jointly hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Telangana government.
- Congress will have the main event for three days and technical committee meetings/sessions over the next 5 days.
- Over 400 experts, policymakers, scientists, researchers and members of seed industry from more than 80 countries including the UK, South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada and Austria, will deliberate on seed policies, production and quality aspects.
- Workshops being held during the event would focus on varietal identification, seed sampling, purity, germination and moisture.
Telangana and the ISTA Congress:
- The state government of Telangana is keen towards making the best use of ISTA 2019 platform to showcase the state's potential in seed production and export its seeds in the international market.
- The state government is also planning to adopt the latest technology and innovative methods to increase seed production and to create awareness among farmers of Telangana.
About the International Seed Testing Association:
- ISTA was formed in 1924 during the 4th International Seed Testing Congress held in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
- It is an association of laboratories who are authorised to check on the marketability of seed as defined in various countries' laws.
- It also determines the seeds ability to germinate, vigour of seed and content of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in seed and test results, as certified by ISTA member laboratories and is accepted by trading partners of World Trade Organization (WTO) in international seed traffic.
One must know:
- Telangana is India's major hub of seed production as it meets about 60% of the country's needs in major crops like rice, soybean, sorghum, maize, pearl millet and cotton.
- It is in Telangana, over 400 seed companies are operating with 413 seed processing and 13 seed testing units and about 2.5 lakh farmers in 1,500 villages are engaged in seed production in 3 lakh acres and produce about 65,000 tonnes seed of various crops.
Question:
Q. Where is the 32nd International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) Congress being hosted in India?a. Jaipur, Rajasthan
b. Nagpur, Maharashtra
c. Telangana, Hyderabad
d. Chennai, Tamil Nadu
