Seeds (Agricultural Inputs)

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Last Updated: Jan 2025 (Seeds (Agricultural Inputs))

Seeds (Agricultural Inputs)

This article deals with ‘Land (Agricultural Inputs).’ This is part of our series on ‘Economics’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.

Introduction

  • High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of seeds is one of the most crucial factors for enhancing agricultural productivity. 20-25% of farm productivity rely on seed quality. 
  • But the issue with HYV seeds is that they need to be replaced every year for best results. It is not possible in India because
    1. Farmers are poor, and they can’t afford to buy HYV seeds.
    2. Due to infrastructural issues, HYV seeds of the best quality aren’t available to meet the demand of all farmers.
  • As a result, India’s Seed Replacement Ratio (SRR) is low, and most farmers use farm-saved seeds.
Seeds (Agricultural Inputs)

Side Topic: Seed Replacement Ratio (SRR)

  • SRR is the percentage of sown area covered by the certified seeds rather than the farm-saved seeds. 
  • In India, SRR is low, varying between 20-35% for various seeds.

Type of Quality Seeds

Quality Seeds are of the following types

Breeder Seeds

  • Breeder seeds are produced in laboratories either by ICAR, Agricultural Universities, or MNCs like Monsanto.
  • These seeds can be High Yielding Variety (HYV) or Genetically Modified (GM) Seed.

Foundation Seeds

  • Breeder seeds can’t be produced on a large scale. Hence, the industry produces Foundation seeds from Breeder seeds at a large scale.
  • In the government sector, National Seeds Corporation produces the Foundation Seeds using Breeder Seeds made by ICAR or Agricultural Universities.

Certified Seeds

  • Foundation seeds are then distributed in villages to large farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations. They use foundation seeds to produce certified seeds.

Breeder, Foundation and Certified Seeds are collectively called Quality Seeds.

They are better than Farm Saved Seeds because, according to Mendel’s Laws, dominant genes will dominate in the next generation, and the efficacy of seeds reduces.

Hybrid Seeds and Genetically Modified (GM) Seeds

HYV seeds can either be Hybrid Seeds or Genetically Modified Seeds. The difference between them is as follows:-

Hybrid Seeds– Hybrid Seeds are developed by cross-breeding or cross-pollination with other plants.
GM Seeds– GM Seeds are developed by transferring selected genes from one organism into another.
– E.g., In BT Cotton, a gene from bacteria named Bacillus Thuringenesis (BT) is transferred to cotton so that it can produce natural pesticides to kill the insects and pests.

Benefits of HYV Seeds

  • HYV seeds have a higher yield and productivity than ordinary seeds.
  • HYV has a shorter life cycle, allowing farmers to venture for multiple cropping.
  • Per quintal requirement of irrigation is lower in the case of HYVs.
  • It increases the income of farmers. Per hectare income of farmers increases significantly by using HYV seeds.

Government Initiatives wrt Seeds

1. Sub Mission on Seed

  • It is a sub-scheme under Umbrella Green Revolution Scheme.
  • It aims
    1. To enhance the Seed Replacement Ratio (SRR).
    2. To upgrade the quality of farm-saved seeds.
    3. To increase the production of certified quality seeds.
    4. Upgradation of public sector seed producing agencies.

2. 100% FDI allowed in Seed Companies

  • 100% FDI is permitted through the automatic route for the development of seeds.

3. Bhartiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Ltd. (BBSSL)

  • It was established in 2023 to provide certified and scientifically prepared seeds to every farmer in the country. 

4. Seed Village Concept

  • A group of farmers in a village are given the training to produce seeds of various crops to fulfil the needs of their village and neighbouring villages.

5. Seed Bank

  • It is the depository of seeds to preserve genetic diversity for future generations.

6. Beej Bachao Andolan

  • It is a movement that started in the 1980s for saving the indigenous varieties of seeds from modern agriculture.
  • It was a community-led movement that started in Uttarakhand with the objectives of
    1. Promote traditional methods of farming. 
    2. Increase agro-biodiversity.
    3. Protect an indigenous variety of seeds.
    4. Increase in the farmer’s income because the indigenous seeds are less costly and require fewer inputs like fertilizers, insecticides etc.

7. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act)

  • It protects the intellectual property rights of plant breeders and seed companies. 
  • Under the Indian Patent Act, seeds and plant varieties can’t be patented. To deal with that issue, the PPVFR Act was introduced, which grants Intellectual Property Rights to the company to charge royalty if others use its method to produce the seed. 
  • This issue came to the limelight in the 2019 PepsiCo Controversy. PepsiCo has developed the FC5 variety of potatoes for the production of Lays. Under the contract, PepsiCo supplied FC5 variety seeds to the farmers. But after the PepsiCo contract expired, farmers continued using the hybrid seeds and sold potatoes to rival companies. 

8. Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program

  • The scheme was announced in Budget 2023.
  • The government has initiated the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program to enhance the accessibility of high-quality planting material for horticultural crops that are free from diseases.

9. Biofortification

  • Biofortification is used to improve the nutritional quality of food crops.
  • E.g., ICAR developed CR Dhan 310 – a rice variety with higher protein and zinc content than traditional rice and Dhan Shakti – a variety of Bajra that has higher Iron content. 

Issues with the Indian Seed sector

  • India has a low Seed Replacement Ratio and high use of farm-saved seeds, negatively impacting farm productivity. 
  • Low investment in R&D by Seed Companies: Investment in R&D is just 3-4% of profits against the international norm of 10-12%.
  • India has a weak IPR regime to protect the rights of seed companies. Hence, companies are not interested in investing in India.
  • The efficacy of certified seeds is also doubtful in many cases.  
  • Seed Monopoly Issues: Monsanto and other MNCs indulge in seed monopolization. It has become the cause of farmer suicides in Vidarbha.
  • Issue of Terminator Genes: Seed companies use Terminator genes in the GM seeds. Such seeds can be used only once and lose their vigour next season. In this way, farmers are forced to buy expensive seeds every season. 
  • Issue of Trait Fees: Under the Indian Patent Act, Seed companies can’t patent particular seed and plant varieties. But companies like Monsanto can charge Trait Fees if other companies use their technology to produce the seeds. BT Cotton is produced by Indian Seed Companies using Monsanto’s Bollgard technology, and in return, Indian seed companies pay a type of royalty to Monsanto, called Trait Fees. The government of India decides the ceiling on Trait fees. But the government has no fixed policy in this regard, causing many legal issues.
  • Loss of genetic diversity of seeds as local varieties have not been preserved. 

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