Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday announced that the government is planning to introduce The Seeds Bill in the Budget session of Parliament.Addressing a programme in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, Chouhan said, “Substandard seeds, manures and pesticides are a big causeof worry for the farmers. The Modi government is committed to safeguarding the interests of our famers. We have decided to bring in The Seeds Bill. We are also working on the Pesticides Management Bill to come up with a robust law to tackle the mess of counterfeit pesticides.”The minister said the government would not spare anyone selling or producing fake seeds or manure. “All those found guilty will be heavily fined and jailed,” he said.The draft Seeds Bill-2019 (a previous version of the draft law) aims at regulating the quality, production, distribution and sale of seeds while establishing a national registration system for all seed varieties. It also mandates that all sold seeds meet minimum standards, introduces price controls for seeds and protects farmers’ rights to save, use, share, or sell their farm seeds, provided they are not branded.Farmer bodies and companies are divided on the benefits of the Bill, a reason why it has failed to become a legislation so far.Many farmer organisations have claimed that the requirement for every seed variety to be registered with the government is likely to create a costly and time-consuming process, making it difficult for farmers and seed companies to comply.A farm expert claimed the Bill focuses on scientific and legal standards for seeds, but overlooks critical ecological, social and cultural factors.Talking to The Tribune, Dharmendra Malik, national spokesperson, BKU-A, noted, “We will support the Bill if the government approaches the problem of bad quality seeds from the perspective of farmers rather than profit-making companies. We do believe that a law should be in place to regulate the seeds industry, which is doing business in crores in our country today.“For instance, we have urged the government to book defaulters under relevant sections of law rather than merely fining them. We also said farmers should not be forced to run from pillar to post for compensation,” he added.Meanwhile, Chouhan also said that India’s agricultural growth rate stands at 4.45 per cent, and that the country has emerged as the world’s largest producer of rice, surpassing China.Interacting with farmers in Chhattisgarh, he noted that diversification into horticulture, vegetable cultivation and other crops alongside traditional paddy farming is significantly increasing farmers’ incomes. Farmers shared that horticultural crops are yielding higher returns compared to traditional varieties.The minister described natural farming, micro-irrigation and water conservation-based agriculture as the future of farming and urged farmers to connect with these initiatives in large numbers. He said that through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the National Rural Livelihood Mission, village infrastructure, connectivity, employment and self-reliance are being strengthened. Rural development, he said, is not limited to buildings and roads but is intrinsically linked to dignified livelihoods and quality of life.
