Top co-ops pitch in to end shortage of certified seeds in country

Goaded by the Union government, the top cooperatives of the country have taken upon themselves the task of ending shortage of certified seeds in the county, revealed Cooperative Secretary Gyanesh Kumar in an informal interaction with media Thursday noon.

The cooperatives which are part of the ambitious project include IFFCO, Kribhco, NAFED and two government aided bodies NDDB and NCDC. The plan envisages inclusion of the smallest co-op units-PACS to this national level seed multistate co-op, revealed Kumar. “PACS would not only be a consumer but also producer of certified seeds, ending the perennial shortage of land for developing certified seeds”, explained Kumar.

Explaining in detail as to how from one kg of breeder seed, 1600 kg of certified seed could be produced with the help of ICAR and Agri Universities, Kumar said that the cost of seed had never been an issue but it’s unavailability did handicap farmers at the time of sowing.

Kumar also revealed that of all the seeds used in the country, only 47% is certified. It has also been noted that there is an increase of 15-20% productivity if certified seeds are used, he added. By just increasing seed consumption of certified variety by one percent, there would be an increase of 5 lakh tonnes of grains, said Kumar adding that the current market of certified seed is of Rs 36000 crore and if the total conversion to certified seed is achieved, it could be anything between Rs 80 to 90 thousand crores.

Talking of creating a robust ecosystem of certified seeds in the country, Kumar said that the huge network of 63000 PACS and 8 lakh co-operatives in the country would come in handy in achieving the target. It would lead to import substitution, increase in agri productivity and seed conservation, he added at the presser where representatives of five top co-op bodies were present along with NCDC Managing Director Pankaj Bansal.

“We were able to develop a detailed roadmap after brainstorming with experts for the last 5-6 months”, said Kumar hinting that the new office of national seed cooperative may soon come up at a swanky location in Delhi. Registration of the new seed multistate would be done any time after 15th January, he revealed.

It was also stated that states and several ministries would be partners in achieving the target. This will be formed through various cooperative societies across the country with support from relevant ministries, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, ICAR and the National Seed Corporation.

Earlier, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, had approved a decision to set up and promote a national level multi-state seed cooperative society under the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 which will act as an apex organization for production, procurement, processing, branding, labelling, packaging, storage, marketing and distribution of quality seeds; strategic research & development; and to develop a system for preservation and promotion of indigenous natural seeds.

Kumar also revealed that the current certification labs (172) in states may be increased to meet the emerging situation. NCDC Managing Director Pankaj Bansal said that the seed multistate co-op will have an authorized share capital of Rs 500 crore and an initial paid-up share capital of Rs 250 crore. The five co-ops will contribute Rs 50 crore each, he added.