Salient features of the draft Seed Bill, 2019

Salient features of the draft Seed Bill, 2019

Parliament finalized the draft Seed Bill, 2019 which aims to regulate the quality of seeds sold and facilitate the production and supply of these seeds to farmers. The bill aims to foster competition by amending the Seed Act, 1966, and Seed Rules, 1968. It is an important legislation to ensure the supply of modern, high-quality, cutting edge seed technologies to the farmers which will help them in enhancing their crop productivity and yield substantially.

Salient features of the draft Seed Bill, 2019

Seed Committee: As per the Draft Seed Bill, 2019, the Central government is required to reconstitute a Central Seed Committee that will be responsible for the effective implementation of its provisions. The Central Government shall take into account the views and suggestions of such Committee.

Registration of Seed Varieties: Seed varieties used for cultivation and those used for research are different. Yet, farmers use many varieties of seed that do not fall under the definition of a certified variety. This bill recommends that seeds used for research purposes also be registered.

Exemptions: The Seed Bill exempt farmers from obtaining registration for varieties developed by them. However, if the farmer sells such seeds for a monetary consideration, then that sale needs to be registered. This is to protect the interests of other farmers who buy seeds from such a farmer. Also, farmers are allowed to sow, exchange or sell their farm seeds and planting material without having to conform to the prescribed minimum limits of germination, physical purity and genetic purity.

Research-based Companies: Going by the distinction between the above roles, the Bill proposes to license a seed producer as a separate entity from a seed processor and seed dealer.

Truthfully labelled seeds: A product can be sold without any quality or purity standard being mandated for it. The new Seed Bill proposes to separate the sale of seeds and chemicals so that only seeds are sold under a voluntary labelling system called "Truthfully Labelled (TL)" seeds.

Nurseries: The draft Seed Bill, 2019 suggests that the Governments may register fruit nurseries. The nursery should need to be registered only if they engage in the propagation of variety.

Price Control: The draft bill proposes that the Centre may for this purpose acquire steps like import of seeds, issue licenses for production and distribution of select varieties. The government is also empowered to fix prices of selected varieties in case of emergent situations such as seed shortage, abnormal increase in price, monopolistic pricing, profiteering, or such other factors affecting market dynamic.

Penal Provisions: The Bill focuses on the penal provisions in addition to the regulatory measures for food safety and seed sovereignty. While penal provisions for inadvertently selling spurious seeds are provided, a seed distributor can avoid penal consequences by proving that he acted strictly upon the advice of a competent authority or even upon the information provided by a manufacturer.

Concerns related to the bill

The concerns related to the bill is also highlighting a serious lacuna in the definition of transgenic variety, which was not clear and also unscientific.

Another setback in the proposed bill was the disparity in rights conferred under the bill and those under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001. This act, which is currently enforced, includes clauses for maintaining breeder’s rights as well as the undertaking of research on genetic resources.

The Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act (PPVFR Act) is based on voluntary registration. As a result, many seeds may be registered under the Seeds Bill but may not be under the PPVFR Act.

According to the Seeds Bill, farmers become eligible for compensation if a plant variety fails to give expected results under “given conditions”. It is almost impossible to define conditions in agriculture. This can cause a rift between the seed companies and the farmers.

In the PPVFR Act, if the licensed company’s seeds are faulty in any way, farmers can go to any court and claim compensation. In the Seeds Bill, they have to go to consumer courts – there’s no clarity on what this means.