Coimbatore :

The Coimbatore Botanical Gardens is set to emerge as the first to have a ‘seed vending machine’ in the State.

The machine will dispense vegetable and flower seeds in affordable packets of 10 gm to 100 gm each (depending upon the price), priced at Rs 10 a packet, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor K. Ramasamy said.

The university has invested Rs 2.4 lakh on this machine.

Ramasamy said the university’s labelled seeds would be packaged and placed in the vending machine. The effort is aimed at encouraging kitchen and roof-top gardens.

The seed requirement for such potted plants is relatively less, and those looking for seeds invariably buy such packets at agri expos. The vending machine will enable garden lovers to source in quantities suited to their needs.

Seed packets would be placed in rows in 6 trays. The user can insert the Rs 10 note or coin, select the seed and collect the packet without waiting to be served, he added.

Depending on the response to this seed dispenser, the varsity plans to install more such machines in the coming days. “We have plans to install a seed dispenser for private seed producers as well. We are looking to create a small window for organic products too,” he added.

The vending machine will be formally inaugurated by State Agriculture Minister S. Damodaran on January 11.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / by L. N. Revathy    revathy.lakshminarasimhan@thehindu.co.in / Coimbatore – January 06th, 2014