Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)
20.2 Major Schemes – Objectives
(i) SUB-MISSION ON SEED AND PLANTING MATERIAL (SMSP):- Sub Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP) is under implementation with the objective to develop/strengthen the seed sector and to enhance production and multiplication of high yielding certified/
quality seeds of all agricultural crops and making it available to farmers at affordable prices and also place an effective system for protection of plant varieties, rights of farmers and plant breeders to encourage development of new varieties of plants.
The existing components of the SMSP scheme are as under :
Sl No. Intervention
i. Strengthening for seed quality control ii. Strengthening of Grow Out Test(GOT)
facilities
iii. Support to seed certification agencies iv. Seed Village programme
v. Certified seed production of oilseeds, pulses , fodder and green manure crops through seed villages
vi. Seed processing facilities vii. Seed storage facilities
viii. Transport subsidy on movement of seeds to NE States etc
ix. National Seed Reserve
x. Assistance for boosting seed production in the private sector
xi. Support to Sub-Mission Director and survey / studies
xii. PPV&FRA
(ii) PRODUCTION OF BREEDER, FOUNDATION AND CERTIFIED/
QUALITY SEEDS: Seeds are the basic and critical input for agricultural production. The Indian Seeds programme recognizes three generations of seeds,
namely breeder, foundation and certified seeds. The details of production of breeder and foundation seeds as well as certified seeds from 2011-12 to 2019-20 are shown in the following table:-
YEAR Production/Availability of Seed (Metric Tonnes) Breeder Seed
(Production)
Foundation Seed Certified / Quality Seed
2011-12 12338 222681 3536200
2012-13 11020 161700 3285800
2013-14 8229 174307 3473130
2014-15 8621 157616 3517664
2015-16 9036 149542 3435248
2016-17 11071.44 220907 3802904
2017-18 10508.59 195415 4194111
2018-19 10426 180096 3988767
2019-20 9977 (Target) 222504 4310095
(iii) STRENGTHENING OF SEED QUALITY CONTROL ORGANIZATIONS (STATE SEED CERTIFICATION AGENCIES AND STATE SEED TESTING LABORATORIES):- The responsibility of execution of seed law enforcement is vested with the State Governments.
Seed Inspectors, notified under the relevant provisions of the Seeds Act, 1966 and the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983, inspect the premises of seed distribution agencies to draw samples for testing. Appropriate action is taken against sellers of sub-standard seeds as per the provisions of the Seeds Act/
Rules and Seed (Control) Orders.
These Inspectors are also authorized to stop the sale of sub-standard seeds and to seize their stocks. Seed Inspectors have also been provided with powers
of enforcement under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to regulate the quality of genetically modified (GM) crops.
(iv) POLICY ON EXPORT/IMPORT OF SEEDS AND PLANTING MATERIALS: - The export/import of seeds has increased with rationalization and simplification of the export/import regime. This has benefited Indian farmers, the seed industry and entrepreneurs. 115 cases were recommended for issue of export and 86 cases were recommended for import during the year 2018-19. During the year 2019-20 ( upto 26 November, 2019) 117 cases of export and 84 cases of import have been recommended to make available the best seed and planting material to farmers.
(v) USE OF BT. COTTON HYBRID SEEDS:
Bt. Cotton is the only transgenic crop approved in the country for commercial cultivation. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is the nodal agency for grant of permission for environmental release of Bt. Cotton hybrids under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 in the country. At present, about 1400 Bt. Cotton hybrid seeds are available for cultivation in the country. These Bt. Cotton hybrids are grown in ten (10) States i.e., Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.
The area under Bt. Cotton has expanded from 29,000 ha in 2002-03 (0.38% of the total cotton area) to about 111.10 lakh hectare in 2018-19 (89% of the total cotton area) and production of cotton has increased from 86.21 lakh bales in 2002-03 to 300.87 lakh bales in 2018-19.
In order to provide an effective system for fixation of a uniform maximum price and to ensure the availability of Bt.
Cotton hybrid seeds to farmers at fair, reasonable and affordable prices, the Government of India issued a Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order (CSPCO), 2015 on 07.12.2015 under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
Accordingly, the Government has regulated the sale of Bt. Cotton seed by evoking the provisions of the EC Act. For 2019, the price of seed of Bt. Cotton has
been fixed at Rs.635/-(with trait value of zero) and for BG-II, Rs.730/- (including trait value of Rs.20/-) has been fixed for a packet of 450 gram plus 120 gram of refugia.
(vi) NATIONAL SEED RESERVE: - In order to meet the requirement of seeds of short and medium duration crop varieties during natural calamities and unforeseen conditions, the National Seed Reserve (NSR) a component of Sub-Mission on Seeds & Planting Material is being implemented by 22 implemention agencies in the country namely National Seed Corporation, State Seeds Corporation and State Department of Agriculture Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to the implementing agencies for revolving funds (cost of seeds), maintenance cost for certified and foundation seeds of short and medium duration crop varieties and price differential for left over stock of seeds.
Financial assistance is also provided for construction of seed godown, establishment of seed processing plant, cost of material handling equipment, cost of outsourced service, computerization and networking facilities. In a contingency situation, the implementing agencies make available seeds to the farmers for re-sowing purposes at reasonable cost.
Year Targets of Physical quantity (in lakh quintals)
Physical Achievement (in lakh quintals)
Amount released to implementing agencies (Rs.
in crores)
2017-18 3.66 3.36 26.78
2018-19 3.71 3.14 11.50
(vii) GM CROP IN INDIA
Bt. Cotton is the only genetically modified crop approved for commercial cultivation by Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in major cotton growing States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The area under Bt. Cotton has expanded from 29,000 ha in 2002-03 (0.38% of the total cotton area) to about 110.10 lakh hectare in 2018-19 (89% of the total cotton area) and production of cotton has increased from 86.21 lakh bales in 2002-03 to 2587.08 lakh bales in 2018-19.
(viii) SAARC SEED BANK:
India signed the Agreement on establishment and maintenance of a SAARC Regional Seed Bank in November, 2011 at the XVII SAARC summit held at Maldives in 2011 with the objective to provide regional support to national seed security efforts;
address regional seed shortage through collective actions and foster inter-country partnerships, to promote increase of Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) with appropriate varieties at a faster rate as far as possible so that the use of quality seed for crop production can be ensured;
and to act as a regional seed security reserve for the Member States.
Accordingly, the National Seeds Corporation Limited (NSC), New Delhi has been declared as the National Designated Agency to coordinate for establishment and maintenance of SAARC Regional Seed Bank in India.
The National Designated Agency (NDA)
would be entrusted with the task of establishing a SAARC Seed Bank as per provisions contained in the agreement.
It will work as the National Focal Point also. National Seeds Corporation Limited, State Seeds Corporations and State Department of Agriculture are declared as implementing agencies for establishment and maintenance of the SAARC Regional Seed Bank in the country.
In addition, the Government of India constituted a National Technical Committee to coordinate all related activities i.e working out modalities and technicalities of participation in the SAARC Regional Seed Bank in the country.
(viii) SEED VILLAGE PROGRAMME: - In order to upgrade the quality of farmer saved seeds which is about 60-65%
of the total seeds used for the crop production programme, the following interventions are made:
(a) 50% assistance for seeds for cereal crops and 60% for oilseeds, pulses, fodder and green manure crops is provided for distribution of foundation/
certified seeds required for one acre area per farmer.
(b) Farmers’ Trainings : Financial assistance of Rs.15000 per group (50- 150 farmers each group) is provided for farmers being trained on seed production and post harvest seed technology (Rs.0.15 lakh)
(c) Seed treating/dressing drums : Financial assistance for treating seeds produced in the Seed Village is available @ 3500 per seed treating drum of 20kg capacity and Rs. 5000 per drum of 40kg capacity.
(d) Seed storage bins: To encourage farmers to develop storage capacity of appropriate quality, financial assistance is available to farmers for purchasing seed storage bins. The rate of assistance is as under.
@33% for SC/ST farmers for 10 qtls.
capacity upto a maximum of Rs.1500 @33% for SC/ST farmers for 20 qtls.
capacity upto a maximum of Rs.3000 @25% for General farmers for 10 qtls.
capacity upto a maximum of Rs.1000 @25% for General farmers for 20 qtls.
capacity upto a maximum of Rs.2000 Assistance for purchase of only one seed bin for each identified farmer is available in the Seed Village Programme. The implementing agency may also distribute smaller seed bins as per demand of farmers and financial assistance is reduced accordingly.
The year-wise physical progress of the programme since 2011-12 is as under: -
Year Number of Seed Village
Organized
Quantity of Seed Produced (In Lakh Quintals)
2011-12 89,244 199.28
2012-13 78,943 116.708
2013-14 68455 145.14
2014-15 48004 193.71
2015-16 29277 91.82
2016-17 24405 62.93
2017-18 100735 126.65
2018-19 102631 207.00
2019-20*
(as on 27.12.2019)
18740 39.88
*The progress from most implementing agencies is yet to be received after crop harvest.
(ix) BOOSTING SEED PRODUCTION IN PRIVATE SECTOR: - Under this component of the credit linked back ended subsidy @40% of the capital cost of the project in general areas and 50% in case of hilly and scheduled areas subject to an upper limit of Rs 150 lakhs per project is funded. Two percent (2%) of the total fund utilized under the component will be allowed as administrative charges to the nodal agency. So far, 651 such projects have been sanctioned for small entrepreneurs in 18 States with 160.52 lakh qtls. seed processing capacity and storage capacity of 60.06 lakh qtls as on 31.10.2019.
(x) PROGRAMME BEING IMPLEMENTED IN THE NORTH-EASTERN STATES:
- Details of the programmes being implemented in the NE region is at Annexure-20.1.
20.3 MODIFICATIONS IN NEW POLICY