Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct. 7: The Department of Agriculture, A&N Administration in association with Registrar of Co-operative Societies, organized a Union Territory Level Orientation Programme on ‘PM Kisan Samridhi Kendra (PM-KSK) for PACS and Fertilizer, Pesticide & Seed Act and Dealership’ yesterday in hybrid mode in the Conference Hall of the Office of the Assistant Director (Agri), Goalghar. The orientation aimed to enhance understanding among officials and stakeholders regarding the regulatory procedures for issuing fertilizer, pesticide, and seed licenses, and to clarify the functional and operational role of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) under the PM Kisan Samridhi Kendra initiative.
The programme commenced with an introductory address by Ms. Pallavi Sarkar, IAS, Secretary (Agriculture), A&N Administration. In her opening remarks, she highlighted that PM-KSK is a transformative initiative of the Government of India designed to convert retail fertilizer shops into one-stop service centres for farmers, integrating sales, soil testing, advisories, and scheme awareness. She encouraged the Agriculture Department and private input dealers to work in coordination and cooperative institutions to ensure that PACS effectively function as PM-KSK units delivering quality inputs and services to farmers.
In her address, Ms. Priyanka Kumari, Director (Agriculture), A&N Administration, highlighted the need for organizing such orientation programmes to ensure uniform understanding and effective implementation of Government schemes and also empowers the officials and stakeholders to comply with statutory requirements and deliver better services to farmers.
The subsequent technical sessions covered the regulatory frameworks and licensing procedures for various agricultural inputs. Dr. (Smt.) S.C. Rekha, Joint Director (Agri.), HQ (I/c), gave a detailed presentation on the regulatory and procedural requirements for fertilizer licenses. She discussed documentation, inspection, renewal protocols, and the importance of compliance with the Fertilizer (Control) Order.
Shri Navasakthi, Assistant Director (Agri.), Extension, delivered a session on the orientation for pesticide licensing, explaining the step-by-step process. Ms. Jacinta Bage, Assistant Director (Agri.), conducted a session on seed licensing and regulation, explaining the procedures for obtaining and renewing seed licenses, certification requirements, and the responsibilities of dealers to maintain seed quality.
Shri Abdul Rasheed, Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies briefed the participants on the role of PACS in PM-KSK, emphasizing that PACS can serve as integrated Centres providing fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, soil testing, and scheme information to farmers. He highlighted how PACS can play a pivotal role in delivering input services to farmers through PM-KSK, thus strengthening the cooperative network and promoting farmer-centric service delivery.
The technical session was followed by an interactive feedback session, during which participants clarified queries related to licensing procedures, online application processing, and the integration of PACS with the PM-KSK platform.
A total of 101 participants, including Pesticide and Seed dealers, PACS members, interested individuals, and departmental officials, attended the orientation programme conducted in hybrid mode (offline and online) from all zones.