DW BUREAU / Shimla Agriculture Minister Virender Kanwar participated in the 93rd Annual General meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research organized at New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar. Agriculture Minister apprised the problem of potato cyst nematode in the state. Potato is the main source of income in the state and potato is produced in an area of about 15,100 hectares, for which about 3 lakh quintals of certified seed per year is required. Foundation seed potatoes are produced in about 55 hectares in potato development centers by the Agriculture Department in the state. For the last 4 years, the production of seed potatoes at potato development centers of the state had to be stopped due to potato cyst nematode. Due to which the production of foundation seed potatoes is not possible on the government farms of the state and the farmers are suffering a lot. The Agriculture Minister said that in order to resolve the issue of potato cyst nematode, the technology developed for management should be transferred to the state government and farmers through the Central Potato Research Institute by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He said that potato is produced on a large scale in Una district and urged the Central Government to open a Center of Excellence at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Una. Virender Kanwar urged the Central Government to approve the projects based on pulses and oilseeds crops, so that the crops of pulses and oilseeds could be promoted in the state. He also expressed gratitude on behalf of the State Government for providing assistance from time to time to promote agriculture related programs in our state. (editor@dailyworld.in)