What Is the Draft Seeds Bill 2025?
The Draft Seeds Bill 2025 aims to modernize India’s seed sector by replacing the outdated Seeds Act, 1966. It proposes a unified national framework for regulating seed production, distribution, and quality, ensuring that farmers receive certified, high-quality seeds. Key features include:
- Centralized Licensing & Registration: Seed producers must obtain a pan-India registration, replacing separate state-level approvals.
- Quality Assurance: Mandatory labelling with germination rates, purity, and seed health.
- Penalties for Violations: Fines and imprisonment for sale of substandard or spurious seeds.
- National Seed Register: Creation of a central database of registered seed varieties.
The Bill intends to ensure traceability, eliminate fake seeds, and promote uniform standards acrouss India.
Key Concerns Raised by Experts and States
- Weakening of State Powers
- States traditionally oversee seed registration, licensing, and quality control.
- Centralized accreditation may override state authority, ignoring local agro-climatic needs and biodiversity.
- Lack of Farmer Compensation
- While penalties apply to seed companies, the Bill does not guarantee farmers compensation for crop losses due to defective seeds.
- Farmers may have to rely on courts, which is time-consuming and costly.
- Impact on Traditional & Farmer-Saved Seeds
- Farmer-saved and community seeds may face restrictions if sold commercially under brand names.
- Could marginalize indigenous seed varieties and reduce agrobiodiversity.
- Corporate Dominance
- Pan-India licensing benefits large seed companies, potentially sidelining small and regional producers.
- Risk of oligopolies in the seed market.
- Weak Price Regulation
- Seed pricing intervention is limited to emergency situations, leaving farmers vulnerable to price spikes.
- Inadequate Grievance Mechanisms
- No statutory mechanism for traceability, recall, or compensation for seed failures, limiting accountability.
Implications for Farmers and Agriculture
- Increased Vulnerability: Farmers may face losses from substandard seeds without guaranteed compensation.
- Erosion of Seed Sovereignty: Traditional, local, and farmer-saved seeds may lose relevance.
- Risk to Biodiversity: Dependence on corporate seeds could reduce crop diversity.
- State Autonomy Undermined: Uniform central rules may ignore local agro-ecological conditions.
- Higher Seed Costs: Emergency-only price regulation may increase financial burden on farmers.
Suggestions by Experts for Improvement
- Introduce a time-bound compensation mechanism for farmers affected by seed failures.
- Restore state-level regulatory powers to maintain federal balance.
- Protect community and farmer-saved seeds to preserve biodiversity.
- Ensure permanent price regulation mechanisms, not just emergency controls.
- Implement a traceability and recall framework for defective seeds.
