Involve private players in seed bank programme: Y Yogeswara Rao

Seedsmen Association of Andhra Pradesh for setting up seed stocks

The Seedsmen Association of Andhra Pradesh (Saap) has called upon the state government to effectively implement the seed bank programme by involving the private seed industry.

Saap president Y Yogeswara Rao told Business Standard that the current seed bank programme was at present being implemented through the public sector companies only.

In view of the recurrent drought conditions, the state administration is not able to make available to the farmers the different varieties and required quantity of seeds.

The government could solve the shortage of seeds by involving the private companies to set up seed stocks, he said. A state level seed bank would also help meet the contingent seed requirements of specific varieties needed for the state which has seven agro-climatic zones and 322 agricultural conditions.

The association, which submitted a draft seed policy to the state government, plans to take up the issue of setting up a state-level committee to monitor the seed bank programme which was not running effectively.

The committee should comprise officials of agriculture department, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (Angrau), public and private seed companies, Rao said.

The seed policy proposed by Saap also points to the importance of the effective implementation of seed village programme, which aims at self-reliance in seed production at village level.

At present, the foundation seed is being distributed to the progressive farmers without any buyback arrangement. Identification of cluster villages for different crops with effective buyback linkages and supply of such seed to local farmers is the need of the hour, Rao said.

Saap has decided to get privately bred hybrid varieties of chillies and jowar evaluated by Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (Angrau) during the current year.

The association has been coordinating evaluation of hybrids of cotton, maize and sunflower by Angrau since 2000. Such evaluation by an outside research agency helps seed companies gain greater confidence of the farmers, he said.

Rao said that the association, which has 450 companies and seed producers, had gone in for seed evaluation by Angrau to curb proliferation of fly-by-night operators whose menace was rampant in the past.

Following the quality appraisal tests by Angrau, the percentage of substandard seed had come down to less than one per cent. Seed being a live material, it is very difficult to supply 100 per cent standard seed, he explained.

The association has also decided to take over the first government-accredited private seed-testing laboratory "" Vapco, which operates in Andhra Pradesh "" during the current fiscal.

He said that because of the active role played by the seed industry, the state had earned the distinction of producing a large quantity of hybrid seeds in the country.

According to him, Andhra Pradesh produces annually around 20 lakh quintals of seeds "" both varieties and hybrids. It accounts for 20 per cent of the total seed produced in the country.

The Saap president said the government should allow Angrau scientists to take up consultancy services for a short period to augment the research efforts of the private seed companies.