Quality Planting Material Certification Standard
Quality Planting Material (QPM) is an essential input in agriculture and forestry for maximizing revenues, improving adaptability to adverse environmental conditions, and meeting quality raw material requirements of markets. The quality of planting material is determined by origin, the authenticity of variety and stock, vegetation development, and health state.
The National Forest Policy of 1988 as well as the Draft National Forest Policy of 2018 has recognized the inadequate availability of QPM for undertaking afforestation measures, agroforestry, and plantations. At present, SFDs (State Forest departments) supply saplings grown in forest nurseries for various plantation programs – largely raised from seeds. It is estimated that only about 10% of planting material is of high quality (National Agroforestry Policy, 2014). Recently, QPM has been one of the main agendas of discussion in MoEFCC’s Expert Committee on TOF deliberations.
NCCF as a national certification standard-setting body has initiated the process for the development of assessment standards for Certification of Quality Planting Material (QPM), through a multi-stakeholder Standard Development Group (SDG) under the Chairmanship of Mr. Abhijit Ghosh, IFS (retd), ex PCCF HoFF, Rajasthan.
NCCF invites the interested stakeholders to participate in the process in the capacity of the Standard Development Group. Interested stakeholders can participate in the process by sending their EoI to qpm.mail@nccf.in
We seek your valuable comments, feedback, and suggestions to take this idea forward and elicit the support of relevant stakeholders. Mail: qpm.mail@nccf.in