Tanzeela Abdul Rasheed
The 13th National Seed Congress 2024, held over three days at the end of November in Varanasi, brought together dozens of scientists and seed companies. They discussed the issues facing the seed sector and came up with several recommendations.
The resolutions pressed for a new law for the seeds sector, promotion of hybrid and biofortified crops including ‘direct seeded rice’ and ‘zero tillage’, enhancing seed entrepreneurship, and strengthening public-private partnerships.
Shiv Kumar Agarwal, regional coordinator, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), stated that a ‘balanced focus on innovation, farmer empowerment and policy reform’ could pave the way for a globally competitive seed industry.
An explainer:
What are the concerns with hybrid crops and biofortified crops?
The main concern in the case of hybrid crops is that they often do not produce seeds with parental traits, so farmers need to purchase new seeds every year. In the case of biofortified crops, genetic uniformity, dietary diversity, consumer acceptance are the main concerns. Yield penalty is another hindrance which requires more land to meet nutritional needs.
What is accelerated breeding cycle?
High speed breeding focuses on reducing breeding time to quickly bring innovative seeds to the market and implementation of cutting edge breeding technique will enhance crop resilience and yield.
How can seed qualities be improved?
For food security, ensuring quality seeds is a necessary. Adhering to standards such as IMSCS (Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards), ISTA (International Seed Testing Association), proper storage and handling, crop research on climate resilient varieties are some of the measures.
What is the role of seed parks and gene banks?
Developed seed parks can facilitate research, development and large scale production of high quality seeds. Gene banks maintain the genetic diversity of crops conserving indigenous varieties for future use.
How can private companies help in fostering the innovation?
One nation one policy could help in bringing the data from companies of different agricultural zones so that they don’t have to wait for requiring permits and help in bringing the new tech for farmers quickly providing profitability.
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