Lok Sabha Question No. 3899 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-08-09
Subject: Sesame Seed Production
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN, SUDHEER GUPTA, VIJAY KUMAR S.R., T. RADHAKRISHNAN, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3899

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  9 TH  AUGUST, 2016

## SESAME SEED PRODUCTION

3899.  SHRI ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR:

SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:

KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE   ‡ãðŠãäÓã एवं कसान कयाण

½ãâ¨ããè be pleased to state:

- (a) whether India is the world's largest sesame seed producer and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the total foreign exchange earned by the Government in this regard during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (c) whether  some  countries  are  reluctant  to  import  Indian  sesame  seed  in  their country due to excessive use of pesticides and insecticides in the cultivation of sesame in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the steps taken by the Government to encourage the farmers to use pesticides/insecticides as per permitted global norms and if so, the details in this regard; and
- (e) the other steps taken/to be taken by the Government to make the farmers shift to organic farming of sesame seed in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF  STATE IN THE  MINISTRY OF  AGRICULTURE AND  FARMERS  WELFARE (  SHRI

‡ãðŠãäÓã एवं कसान कयाण ½ãâ¨ããÊã¾ã  ½ãñâ  Àã·¾ã  ½ãâ¨ããè PARSHOTTAM RUPALA)

- (a): Yes,  Madam.  India  is  the  largest  producer  of  sesame  seeds  in  the  world  and produced 0.81 million tonnes during 2014.

(b): Foreign  exchange  earned  by  the  Government  on  the  export  of  sesame  seed during the last three years and current year is as under:

| Years                     | Quantity (tonnes)   |   Value (million US $) |
|---------------------------|---------------------|------------------------|
| 2013-14                   | 2,57,441            |                 592.17 |
| 2014-15                   | 3,75,656            |                 772.27 |
| 2015-16                   | 3,28,373            |                 459.65 |
| 2016-17 (April-May, 2016) | 69,094              |                  87.57 |

(c): The issue of rapid alert from European Union regarding Salmonella contamination in Indian sesame seed was resolved and a new procedure for control of contamination of Salmonella in sesame seeds for export to EU countries was notified by Directorate General Foreign Trade (DGFT) vide notification no. 37/2015-20 dated 03 rd February, 2016. The market access issue of sesame seed, with Japan is being pursued. The issue of sesame seed export was taken up with Japanese delegation during the 3 rd meeting of Joint Committee under India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) held on 28 th July, 2015.

(d): The Government of India is emphasizing upon the use of right dose of pesticides/ insecticides  as  recommended  by  research  organization  like  ICAR  and  SAUs.  These organizations follow global norms while proposing recommendations.

(e): National  Centre  for  Organic  Farming  (NCOF)  under  DAC&FW,  is  the  nodal agency  for  promotion  of  organic  farming  in  the  country  through  technical  capacity building  of  all  the  stakeholders  including  human  resource  development,  transfer  of technology, promotion and production of quality organic and biological inputs, awareness creation and publicity through print and electronic media.

In addition, to increase production and productivity of oilseeds, National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) is being implemented since 2014-15. Under the mission,  use  of  bio-agents,  bio-fertilizers  and  bio-pesticides,  which  are  organic  in nature,  are  being  supported  for  cultivation  of  oilseeds  including  sesame.  Financial assistance  is  also  being  provided  for  supply  of  Nuclear  Polyhedrosis  Virus  (NPV)  for management of insects and Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB) and Zinc Solubilising Bacteria (ZSB), Azotobactor, Mycorrhiza etc. for organic nutrient availability.

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