FAO, Centre to launch 'Insects Surveillance Projects'

Tiruchirapalli, Jan 6 (UNI) The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Union Government will jointly launch 'Insects Surveillance Projects' by using information technology, FAO consultant Dr V Raghunathan said.

Speaking on the occasion of the successful completion of a three months pilot study here yesterday, Dr Raghunathan said the study would be extended to Gundur, Warrangal, Kurnool and Ranga Reddy districts of Andhra Pradesh.

The aim of the scheme was to prevent the usage of unwarranted pesticides by the farmers, he said, adding, the scheme would be extended to entire Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

The existing Regional Quarantine Centres located at Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, New Delhi and Chennai and other 25 sub centres across the country would be upgraded to full fledged research centres, he informed.

The FAO consultant said the National Plant Protection Training Institute at Hyderabad would be given autonomous status and modernised with an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore.

He said Integrated Pest Management Experts from ICAR and other agriculture Universities in the country would jointly address the issues on various crops and develop a unified module to assist farmers to protect their crops from insects.

There would be national-level conference in the third week of this month in Hyderabad to deliberate on the usage of bio-pesticides. All stakeholders of the pesticide industry were expected to take part in it, he said.

UNI RV RJ KP1948