Enforcing Seed Regulations in the States

1. “ Enforcing Seed Regulations in the States”
Dr. K. Keshavulu
President, ISTA, Switzerland
Managing Director, Telangana State Seed Organisations
Government of Telangana, Hyderabad, India
National Seminar
on
Regulations and Governance Issues in the
Indian Seed Sector
26-27, September, 2023, New Delhi

2. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Introduction
• Seed Regulations: Importance
• Global Seed Regulatory Framework
• Seed Supply & Legislations in India
• Indian Seed Regulatory framework
• Seed Law Enforcement in States
• Conclusion
Outline

3. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Food and nutritional security for the ever-growing global
population is a major challenge!
• Global population– 8.0 bn & India – 1.40 bn
• Demand for food grains is likely to increase !
• Quality seed - fundamental and vital input for improving the
production and productivity of crops
• Appropriate seed regulations are essential to ensure
availability & farmers’ access to quality seeds ……!
Introduction

4. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Appropriate seed regulations are essential to create an
enabling environment for the development of seed sector
• Strengthen the seed sector through adherence to policies
that guarantee quality standards
• Regulations protects the interests of buyers and sellers
• Seed regulations promotes;
- Competitive seed markets
- Seed sector growth and innovations
- Ensure quality seed access to the farmers
- Lowers trade barriers
- Diverse seed systems
Seed Regulations

5. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Variety registration (listing / catalogue): Seed laws ensure
that only the seed of suitable kind / variety / genetics are
marketed for sowing.
• Quality assurance: Seed quality is maintained at all stages
from multiplication, production to distribution and use, with
adequate legal measures: certification, seed testing,
labelling and law enforcement.
• Intellectual property rights: Protection of Plant Varieties &
Breeders’ / & Farmers’ Rights.
• Phytosanitary and quarantine regulations: Control of
introduction and spread of pests and diseases through seed.
Seed Regulations: Components
The seed regulations:

6. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
Global Seed Regulatory Framework
Effective Seed
Systems & Quality
Declared Seeds Seed Certification Schemes
Laws on Plant Genetic Resources
Rules for Seed Sampling & Testing Phytosanitary measures Plant Variety Protection
National laws of the respective countries also plays a greater role

7. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
Global Seed Regulatory Approaches
Certification/ Labelling Countries Key Features
Mandatory Certification EU, some African countries & Asian
countries like Republic of Korea,
Philippines & Indonesia
• Mandatory certification is contingent on variety and firm registration
(regulatory gateway / preconditions)
• Based on OECD Seed Schemes and ISTA Standards
• Advanced regulatory environment and appropriate infrastructure needed
Voluntary Certification with
Compulsory Labelling
USA and few Asian countries, like
India, Nepal, China, Japan, Thailand,
Vietnam, Myanmar etc.
• Truth - in - labeling relies on self-declaration of seed producers
• Produces provide information based on minimum quality standards
Quality Declared Seed
(QDS)
Some African countries like,
Madagascar, Uganda, Guatemala,
Peru & Zambia
• More flexible alternative for quality assurance than mandatory seed
certification, especially for local and farmer’s varieties
• Adopted to address inefficiencies and capacity gaps in formal seed
certification mechanisms
• Limited to specific regions or crops

8. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
Global Seed Regulations: few examples
Country Seed Regulation & quality control
United States of America • Seed control is managed at both the Federal and State levels through the Federal Seed Act
• In both levels of government follow the truth-in-labeling system
• Varietal testing is mandatory
Canada • Seed control is managed at managed primarily at the Federal level through the Canadian Seed Act
• Follows “truth in labeling System’ like the US; however, much more restrictive
• Uses a grading system that applies a quality grade for all seed sold for easy quality identification
Japan • National and provincial governments regulate the minimum seed quality as per the national standards.
• For horticulture seed (and planting material) self assurance is permissible.
• Voluntary seed certification but seed health testing is mandatory
Nepal, China, Thailand &
Cambodia
• Seed quality control is managed under the provisions of national laws
• Voluntary seed certification & compulsory labelling,
• No pre & post control tests
Republic of Korea,
Philippines & Indonesia
• Seed quality control is managed under the provisions of national laws
• Compulsory seed certification, varietal registration and also pre & post control tests

9. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
Global Seed Laws: African region

10. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• India – 5th largest seed market in the globe with a
value of USD $ 5.5 Billion (2022)
• CAGR of around 13 % during 2017–2022
• Expected to reach a value of USD 11.0 Billion by
2027
• Impressive growth in the areas of R & D, product
development, supply chain management and quality
assurance
• Increasing domestic demand and demand for quality
seeds in various foreign countries, mainly the South
East Asian countries.
• Rising awareness among the farmers related to the
benefits of using certified/ quality seeds has led to
an increase in the demand for seeds over the past
few years
Indian Seed Industry

11. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
Seed law enforcement in India
Enactment of seed
laws, regulations &
policies
Federal Government
State Governments
(supplementary seed
regulations)
Enforcement of
seed regulations
Varietal Notification - Federal
Government
Varietal Release – Federal /State
Governments
Seed certification– SSCAs under
State Governments
Seed law enforcement –State
Governments
Varietal protection & phyto-
sanitary certification – Federal
Government
• Seeds Act 1966
• Seeds Rules 1968
• Seeds (Control) Order,
1983
• New Policy on Seed
Development 1988
• PPVFA 2001
• National Seed Policy
2002
• BDA 2002

12. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Central laws - enforcement by States
• Varietal testing (In-house/SAUs/ICAR/AICRPs)
• Varietal release (national / state level) and notification is voluntary.
• Variety registration, PVP and Seed Certification are voluntary.
• Seed testing as per the national seed testing manual based on ISTA Rules
• Labelling is compulsory with minimum quality standards for GPM
• Need emphasis on seed health testing !!!
• Need to frame guidelines for BSP monitoring of notified private hybrids/varieties ??
Seed Quality Regulation: India

13. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
Seed law enforcement in States
Non uniformity of seed law enforcement:
• Seed License: Form-B or Form-C?
• Amendment of Seed License: Form-B or Form-C?
• Seed License scope: Seed business, imports and exports including e-
commerce.
• Varietal inclusion: Notified Varieties only or including Non-notified
varieties? Is it required under law? Under what provision?
• Seed license for Field Crops and Veg crops are separate
• Validity period is 5 years ? or 3 years ?
Varietal testing / registration:
• Variety trails / registration is mandatory ? / Voluntary ?
• Local SAU trial data mandatory for Variety registration?
• No. of Years / seasons testing from local SAUs (years?)
• Local trial data from public institutions is mandatory ?
• Morphological Characters / DUS characters by company mandatary ?
Supplementary seed regulations by States:
• Few States have stringent regulations seed offences, like PD Act, task
force teams by involving Police, farmers compensation, etc.
• Few states have decriminalized the seed offences and increased the
penalties
• Seed Offences penalties / punishments varies among the states?
• Regulations on HT cotton ?
Seed testing & QA :
• Accepting test results of notified / no-notified / in-house labs
• Tests results from notified labs mandatory ?
• Pre-dispatch test results ?
• Emphasis on seed testing and lab infrastructure

14. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Fragmented Seed Sector- > 500 public & private seed companies of varying sizes need
proper coordination
• Non-uniformity in seed law enforcement across the country (some are stringent and few
are liberal) Enabling environment !
• Seed regulations biased focus on post-production phase i.e. marketing phase, except for
certified seeds
• Need proper in house regulation mechanism on production, processing, packing, storage
etc. for labelled seeds
• Seed laws – needs relook - clear cut and science based guidelines on trials, bio-safety
measures, and post-release control measures for GM crops
• Need-uniformity in seed testing protocols & varied test results among the states and
between public and private
• Low emphasis on varietal registration & seed health testing
• Need comprehensive data base on seed law enforcement
Challenges

15. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi
• Enabling, inclusive and globally aligned seed regulations that promote
interaction of science and innovation with entrepreneurship, which
lead to competition and the further development of strong industry
• Strengthening of regulatory mechanism in terms of transparency,
uniformity, modernity, and science-based approaches
• Rigorous and uniform enforcement across the states (varietal testing,
production, licensing requirements, labelling, vigilance etc.) – will help
in scaling-up competitive & qualitative seed business, and improves
ease of doing seed business across country
• Alignment of purpose and strategy of seed law enforcement between
Centre and States
• Digitalization, IT innovations and creation of comprehensive data
base
Conclusion

16. National Seminar
on Regulations and Governance Issues
in the Indian Seed Sector
Sep 26-27, 2023, New Delhi