Seed Rolling Plan - SeedNet India

Minutes of the 1 st Meeting of the Standing Committee of Seed ProducersThe 1 st Meeting of the Standing Committee of Seed Producers was held on 23 rdSeptember, 2011 at Krishi Bhawan, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India under theChairmanship of Shri G.C. Pati, Additional Secretary (Seeds). The list of the participants areenclosed at Annexure-1.Shri G.C. Pati, Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation.Government of India welcomed all the participants of the 1 st Meeting of the Standing Committeeof seed producers and explained the purpose of formation of the Standing Committee. Heemphasised the need to have better coordination of efforts of all seed producers both in publicand private sector so as to ensure timely supply of adequate quantity of quality seeds in variouscrops to the farmers of the country according to their changed preferences and requirements witha view to increase the production and productivity of all agricultural produce. He further statedthat presently the requirement of different State Government are mostly met from public sectorseed producing companies and as a result of various efforts/policy initiatives taken byGovernment of India as well as State Government the production of certified/quality seeds hasincreased manifold during the last five years resulting in significant improvement in the SRR inseveral field crops. Shri S.K.G. Rahate, Joint Secretary (Seeds) in his opening remarks stressedthe need for having a Rolling Plan from various State Government about their variety wiserequirement of breeder/foundation/certified seeds for the next three years so that better planningcould be done for taking up the production of such seeds by different seed producing agencies.Shri Dadlani, Secretary, National Seeds Association of India welcomed the initiatives of theMinistry in constituting the Standing Committee to have better coordination of efforts among allconcerned. On behalf of the seed companies in private sector he assured cooperation andassistance that would be required by the Committee.Thereafter the Agenda items as circulated vide NSC’s letter No.Prodn/SCSP/2011-12/NSC dated 7 th September, 2011 were discussed one by one.1. Lifting of Breeder Seed by various State Government/Seed/Producing Agencies.It was mentioned by some of the State Seed Corporations that sometimes they do notget the required quantity of Breeder Seeds from ICAR against indents. On the other

Minutes of the 2 nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of Seed ProducersThe 2 nd meeting of the Standing Committee of Seed Producers was held on 28 thDecember, 2011 at Krishi Bhavan, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India under theChairmanship of Shri G.C. Pati, Additional Secretary (Seeds).The list of the participants are at Annexure-I.Shri S.K.G. Rahate, Joint Secretary (Seeds), Department of Agriculture &Cooperation, Government of India welcomed the participants and briefly summarized thediscussions held in the first meeting of the Standing Committee that took place on23.09.2011. Thereafter, the agenda for the 2 nd meeting of the Standing Committee of SeedProducers was taken up for discussion.1. Action Taken Report of the 1 st meeting of the Standing Committee. Procedure for placing breeder seed indent and lifting to be adopted byDepartment of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC)/ Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR) and States as finalized in the 1 st meeting wascirculated on 20.10.2011 to all participants inviting suggestions/comments.Comments have not been received so far. Seed Rolling Plan for three years to be prepared by the State projecting thereinvariety wise seed requirements and production of breeder seed, foundationseed and certified seed for every zone/division within State starting from thenext year was proposed. A format for three years Seed Rolling Plan has beenprepared by the Seeds Division and circulated to the all participants.Comments have not been received so far.

Seed Distribution models of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar wereobtained for further study and discussion. A re-examination of the present Subsidy Pattern including production anddistribution subsidy :- On this issue, the Sub Committee met on 14.12.2011and discussed the following aspects:(i) Present structure of production and distribution subsidies under variouscrop development programme like NFSM, ISOPOM etc.(ii) Non availability of better public hybrid in cotton and paddy – ICAR tobe requested to develop better hybrid.(iii) Wherever seeds have to be out sourced from private sector, one of theterms of the tender clause should be disclosure of sources offoundation/breeder seed and producer of certified seeds so thatgenuineness of the certified seed supply by such private seed producingcompany can be ensured/verified.(iv) Enhancing the production of new and better varieties (shortduration/stress tolerant etc).(v) Inadequate production subsidy being given to State Seed Corporationby State Government to be sorted out at State Level – a reference bemade to GOI if the issue is not resolved.2. Procedure for placing breeder seed indent and liftingIt was decided that the suggested procedure in the 1 st Meeting of the StandingCommittee for placing breeder seed indent and lifting may be adopted by DAC/ICARafter circulating it to all State and ICAR for giving their comments on or before 15 thFebruary, 2012. Thereafter, after considering the comments/views, the suggestedprocedure for placing breeder seed indent and lifting would be adopted after approvalof competent authority.

3. Seed Rolling Plan:A format for preparing variety wise seed rolling plan for three years forbreeder seed, foundation seed and certified/quality seed by the States (for everyzone/division with in State) was circulated. It has been suggested that a State LevelCommittee (SLC) be formed in every state as given under: Representative from Director of Agriculture. Representative of State Agriculture Universities Representative of State Seed Corporation Representative of NSC Representative of SFCI if available in the State Representative of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),Institute Representative of NSAI Any other stakeholder as would be decided by State Government.• SLC will include region specific new varieties, stress tolerantvarieties suitable for the State.• Seed Producer –wise targets to be finalized for quantity offoundation and certified seed for all three years. The deficitquantity to be work out and advance MOU/tie up made beindicated.It was decided to send the suggestion on the Seed Rolling Plan to individual StateGovernments for giving their comments/consent by 15 th February, 2012 after which,considering the comments received, the system of 3 year Seed Rolling Plan would betaken up for implementation during the 12 th Plan period.4. Seed Distribution Models followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka andBihar.Some of the salient features are:(i) Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Governments are providing 50%subsidy on seed distribution.

(ii) In Bihar seed distribution subsidy is directly given to the farmers forpurchase of paddy and maize hybrid seed in the Kisan Melas. The saleof other seed is through the dealers outlets at subsidized rate. The seedsupplying agencies claim subsidy from the Director of Agriculture bysubmitting the supporting document prescribed by the StateGovernment.After discussion it was decided that some of the members of the Sub-Committeemay visit Bihar and Andhra Pradesh for an on the spot study of their respective seeddistribution model and these models may be examined by the Sub-Committee beforenext meeting of the committee.5. Popularization of new varietiesi. DAC may request the state for taking up extension work with the helpii.iii.iv.of SSC, SAU’s, KVKs, State Seed Farms, Private Seed Producers byusing the funds under the schemes ATMA of GOI.Data base for performance of new varieties under minikits should becollected by respective seed supplying agencies and KVKs.Based on the performance of the variety in the demonstration, seedproducers (public and private) will take up the seed production.DAC may request ICAR for suggestions for populazing newvariety/hybrid for increasing its production and phasing out oldvarieties in future.During the discussion in the meeting a view emerged that, in order to promotenew varieties and discourage older varieties of more than 10 years, the subsidy maybe phased out gradually over a period of three years by reducing it to 50%, 25%, 25%respectively and completely removing it in the 4 th year. It was decided that the Subcommitteemay further deliberate on this issue and give its recommendation beforenext meeting.6. Procurement of seed through tender by the State Government: - Non-existence of uniform procedures.

During the discussion, some of the members pointed out that different States arefollowing different procedures for the procurement of seeds through tender. Thetender procedure followed by the States do not have adequate pre-conditions as aresult of which unscrupulous traders dealing with sub-standard/ mis-branded seedsare participating in the tender causing considerable damage to the genuine seedproducers in the public as well as private sector. In order to overcome this problem, itwas suggested that the Sub-Committee may formulate a uniform tender procedurecontaining all essential conditions with a two bid system i.e. technical andcommercial bid which would be then circulated to the State Governments foradoption so that a uniform mechanism of seed procurement through tender isestablished.7. Terms of Reference of the Sub- CommitteePursuant to the discussion held, it was decided that the Sub-Committee formed as perdecision taken in the 1 st meeting of the Standing Committee may have following Termsof References (TORs) for its future functioning:-i. To study the entire Seed Subsidy regime – pattern, quantum, relevance ofboth production and distribution subsidy.ii.iii.To formulate a uniform procedure for tender with requisite essential conditionsfor procurement of seeds by the State Governments so that only qualitycertified seeds from genuine producers/seed companies are procured.Phasing out of old obsolete varieties of seeds by suggesting different levels ofsubsidy for older and new varieties.Sub-Committee shall submit its report within a month.Further, it was also decided to expand the Sub-Committee by adding followingmembers:-I. Additional Commissioner(Crops), DAC, MOA

II.Two representatives from NSAI, i.e. one member from private seed companiesand one member from NSAI Office bearers.At the end, Shri G.C. Pati, Additional Secretary (Seeds), DAC and Chairman ofthe Standing Committee desired that follow up action on the discussions held in the firstmeeting as well as discussions held today should be taken expeditiously and the SubCommittee should meet, as early as possible, to discuss various issues as mentionedabove and come out with its recommendations which would be further deliberated uponin the next meeting of the Standing Committee.The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.Encl: List of participants.(S.K.ROONGTA)CMD, NSC & ConvenerStanding Committee of Seed ProducersDistribution:(i) The Additional Secretary (Seeds)/Chairman, Standing Committee of Seed Producers,Deptt. of Agri. & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, KrishiBhavan, New Delhi.(ii) Joint Secretary (Seeds), Deptt. of Agri. & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt.of India, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi(iii) Director (Seeds), Deptt. of Agri. & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. ofIndia, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi(iv) Chairman cum Managing Director, State Farms Corporation of India, 13-14, FarmBhavan, Nehru Place, New Delhi.(v) Asstt. Director General (Seeds), ICAR, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi(vi) Dy. Commissioner (Seeds), Deptt. of Agri. & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture,Govt. of India, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi.(vii) Dy. Commissioner (TMOP), Deptt. of Agri. & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture,Govt. of India, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi.(viii) Managing Director (All SSCs)(ix) Director, National Seed Association of India, New Delhi.(x) Chairperson, PPV&FRA, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi.

ANNEXURE-IFIVE YEAR SEED ROLLING PLAN (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15,2015-16, 2016-17)YEAR :Qty. in Qtls.BREEDER SEEDSl.NO. Crop Variety/Hybrid Year ofNotificationDuration(S/M/L)INDENTNationalVarietyStateVarietyTotalNOTE : 1. Duration - Short (S), Medium (M) and Long (L)2. Varieties notified till date be taken in account and also provision for seedproduction of new varieties be kept.

YEAR :FOUNDATION SEEDSl.NO. CropANNEXURE-IIFIVE YEAR SEED ROLLING PLAN (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15,2015-16, 2016-17) FOR ORGANISING SEED PRODUCTIONQty. in Qtls.Variety/HybridYear ofNotificationDuration(S/M/L)ProductionRequired as pernext year'sRequirementSeed Producing AgenciesDOA SSF SSC SAU's NSC SFCI CO-OP. PVT. OTHERS(Specify)TOTAL DeficitName of Agencywith whom advanceMOU/Tie-up madeQuantityNOTE : 1. Duration - Short (S), Medium (M) and Long (L)2. Varieties notified till date be taken in account and also provision for seed production of new varieties be kept.3. Seed Plan for foundation and certified seed each year be prepared separately.

YEAR :CERTIFIED SEEDSl.NO. Crop Variety/ Year ofHybrid NotificationFIVE YEAR SEED ROLLING PLAN (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15,2015-16, 2016-17) FOR ORGANISING SEED PRODUCTIONDuration(S/M/L)ProductionRequired as pernext year'sRequirementSeed Producing AgenciesDOA SSF SSC SAU's NSC SFCI CO-OP. PVT. OTHERS(Specify)ANNEXURE-IIIQty. in Qtls.TOTAL Deficit Name ofAgency withwhom advanceMOU/Tie-upmadeQuantityNOTE : 1. Duration - Short (S), Medium (M) and Long (L)2. Varieties notified till date be taken in account and also provision for seed production of new varieties be kept.3. Seed Plan for foundation and certified seed each year be prepared separately.