Question : Sesame Seed Production

(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?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

‡ãðŠãäÓã ??? ????? ?????? ½ãâ¨ããÊã¾ã ½ãñâ À㕾㠽ãâ¨ããè ( SHRI PARSHOTTAM RUPALA)


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

Contd…2/-


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(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 03rd 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 3rd meeting of Joint Committee under India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) held on 28th 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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