Presiding over the three-day national workshop on "Rabi/summer groundnut" jointly organised by the National Research Centre for Groundnut (NRCGP), Junagadh, and Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) of Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University here, he said at present the country was producing 25 million tonnes of groundnut per year. It was expected to be doubled in the next ten years.

He said groundnut production was relatively low during khariff season, but yields good harvest in the following rabi seasons. The Icar has formulatedstrategies to increase the production in khariff season also, he added.Dr Singh said the average export of various agricultural produce amounted to Rs 4800 crore annually, of which groundnut alone constituted Rs 300 crores. uTo achieve self-sufficiency, the country required an additional four to five million tonnes of oilseeds while importing 1.5 million tonnes of oils, particularly palm oil, which was cheaper in international market.

The Icar had developed two dozen new varieties of oilseeds in groundnut crop. But lack of seeds-stock led to its low use in the land.

Dr Singh said the state governments were not not making proper indents for new varieties, which was one of the reason for the fall in production.The icar has also laid stress on adopting new technologies in research by encouraging private farms in the supply of oilseeds, besides creating awareness among the farming community by holding seminars and workshops, he added.

About 75 agricultural scientists are participating in the workshop.