Proceedings of the Fifth Asian Regional Maize Workshop - Search ...

In recent years, many new companies have entered the seed business in developing countries.
This can be attributed to:
- Greater availability of hybrids in several crop species.
- Easing of government policies pertaining to the private sector entering the seed
business.
Availability of hybrids
A partial list of crops for which hybrids are available can be seen in Table 4. Historically,
the seed industry in developed countries has expanded by developing and selling hybrids
(Table 5). The industry generally shifts towards hybrids whenever they are technically and
economically feasible. Nearly ~ of the total global commercial seed business of about US$15.0
billion is accounted for hybrid sales in various crops. Importantly, with hybrids breeders can
protect their intellectual property in the form of trade secrets. The parent lines required to
produce the hybrid are kept secret by the breeding company. Hybrids thereby enable companies to
obtain an acceptable return on their investment either directly in the form of gross margins, or
indirectly in the form of royalties, or both. With proper incentives, the private sector can
become a dynamic force in hybrid seed industry development in the Third WOrld. Recent activity
by the private sector in developing countries in Asia and Latin America indicates that there are
ample business opportunities in hybrids.
Table 4.
Available hybrid systems and selected examples.
Hybrid System
Crops
Manual or mechanical emasculation
Chemical (Gibberellins, A9N0 3
,
Ethre1, etc.)
Cytoplasmic male sterility (OMS)
self incompatibility (51)
Natural genetic male sterility (ms ms)
Engineered genetic male sterility (NMS)
- Corn
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Melon
- SOrghum
- Rice
- Millet
- Sunflower
- Cabbage
- Broccol i
- Pigeon Peas
- Oilseed Rape
GoverT1lll8l"lt deregulation
one of the most notable examples of deregulation in the developing world is India's "New
seed Policy", which was announced in 1988. As a result of the new policy, many new national and
multinational companies entered the seed business in India. "rhe newcomers include Indian Tobacco
Co. (ITe), Sandoz, Cargill, Hoechst, Ciba-Geigy, ICI, SPIC, Bejo, Hindustan Lever, Harrisons
Malaya1am and JK seeds. Similarly, deregulation in Thailand and Philippines has led to a sizable
expansion in their hybrid seed industries over the past 5 years. Government policy makers can
learn a lesson from this phenomenon. Even slight deregulation of the sort introduced in India
can spur enormous development in a country's seed industry.
Policy makers can continue to create incentives for expansion, as is currently happening
in several developing countries. The aim of any seed policy should be to ensure that elite seed
is made available to farmers. Legislation that hinders this goal is counterproductive. If the
private sector is to be a partner in the effort to develop, produce, and distribute hybrid seeds,
the principles by which the industry operates should be considered in national policy making.
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