Amid growing competition from private seed companies, apex government research body ICAR on Monday said that it will set up a committee to frame guidelines for public-private partnerships (PPP) in the sector.
“We are in the process of setting up a committee for framing guidelines for private players, which are increasingly entering the seed sector,” ICAR Assistant Director General (Seed) J.S. Sandhu said on the sidelines of a meeting on the seed project.
ICAR director General S. Ayyappan said that discussions on forging alliances with corporate are required in the scientist community.
Stating that the future of seed development lies in PPPs, Ayyappan said that scientists should come up with ideas on how to go about it.
Though Deputy DG (Crop Sciences) ICAR Swapan Kumar Datta welcomed private competition in seed development, he said that besides whisking away promising scientists from ICAR, corporates had also captured the germ plasm from the public domain. Therefore, it should be protected under Intellectual Property Rights, Datta added.
As of now, the committee has Sandhu and Datta on board. It has asked the government to nominate more members into it. Highlighting the importance of seed banks, Ayyappan said, “There is a need for more such seed banks and, therefore, a roadmap on this is needed.”
The DG (ICAR) said that though it is not known when the long-pending Seed Bill would be passed by Parliament, the council should be ready with inputs that could be incorporated into it whenever required.
In March this year, the Cabinet had approved the new Seed Bill, which sought to check the sale of spurious seeds by making registration mandatory.
The Seed Bill 2004, which was first introduced in that year, was expected to replace the existing Seed Act of 1966.
The new Bill aims to ensure seed quality and take care of farmers interests. It would also address concerns regarding sowing, use, exchange and sale of seeds.
Speaking on the occasion, ICAR DDG (Crop Sciences) Swapan Kumar Datta said that hybrid seeds would play an important role in the future and government should ensure their availability.
