Studies on Policy Option for Quality Seed Production and ... - NFPCSP

4.1.38 Constraints to rice seed productionThe constraints to rice seed production for all the study areas are summarized in Table 4.1.38. It isobserved that low market price of farmers’ seed got the highest score (109) followed by high price ofinputs (score 97) in Rajshahi. The table also indicates that `lack of storage facility’ and `lack ofirrigation facility’ occupied 3 rd and 4 th positions, respectively. Participants further reported that farmersdid not prefer the seeds stored in open place. They wanted to purchase packet or bag of seeds.In Rangpur, overall ranking by the participants indicated that ‘high price of inputs’ has got the highestscore (70) and ranked first as constraints to rice see d production. Next to this ‘low market price offarmers’ seed’ was 2 nd in rank scoring 62 points followed by ‘marketing problem’ (i.e. poor confidenceto the farmers’ homegrown seed) as 3 rd in rank with 59 points. The farmers also prioritized other majorconstraints like ‘high labour wage’, ‘lack of capital’, ‘lack of improved production and storagetechnology’.Table 4.1.38 Constraints to production of rice seed in the study areasConstraintRajshahi Rangpur JessoreScore Rank Score Rank Score Ranki) Low market price of farmers’ seed 109 1 st 62 2 nd 72 2 ndii) High price of inputs 97 2 nd 70 1 st - -iii) Marketing problem (i.e. poor confidence - - 59 3 rd 87 1 stto the farmers’ homegrown seed)iv) Lack of storage facilities 92 3 rd 52 6 th 58 4 thv) Lack of irrigation facilities 77 4 th - - 32 6 thvi) High wage rate of agriculture labour 61 5 th 56 4 th - -vii) Lack of technological knowledge - - - - 64 3 rdviii) Insufficient electricity supply 52 6 th - - - -ix) Lack of capital - - 54 5 th 43 5 thx) Lack of quality seeds - - 51 7 th - -xi) Natural disaster - - 44 8 th - -xii) Seed production from hybrid riceis not possible- - - - 22 7 thA number of constraints to rice seed production were reported by the farmers of Jessore (Table 4.1.39).No marketing facilities of rice seeds’ got the highest score (87) and ranked 1 st as constraints to rice seedproduction. `Lower market price than company seeds’ ranked 2 nd with 72 points followed by `lack ofknowledge’ (64). `Lack of storage facility’ was another constraint scoring 58 and ranked 4 th . From theabove analysis it is clear that the problem of marketing of farmers’ seed is the main constraint to riceseed production. If the farmers can sell their seed at a reasonable price, they are willing to produceseeds.4.1.39 Seed quality of farmers’ homegrown rice seedSeed is a living product that must be grown, harvested and processed rightly to maximize its viabilityand to sustain/improve crop productivity. Good quality seed must be sown to realize the yield potentialof the variety. Seed quality can be considered as the summation of all factors (like seed moisture,purity, germination etc.) that contribute to seed performance. A major part of Bangladeshi farmers usetheir homegrown rice seed for crop production and this play a vital role in the country’s food security.45