Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture
Context
- Recently, the Union Agriculture Minister is consulting farmer organisations on a proposed new Seed Act to curb fake seeds, improve traceability and strengthen accountability across India’s seed supply chain.
About the Proposed New Seed Act
- The proposed legislation seeks to replace the Seeds Act, 1966, and create a stronger, uniform and technology-enabled regulatory framework for seeds and planting material.
- The existing law is nearly six decades old, while the Seeds Control Order came into force in 1983.
- The government sought public suggestions on the draft in late 2025 and received around 18,000 suggestions from farmers and farmer organisations.
- Around 20 farmer organisations, representing almost all States, have submitted suggestions during recent consultations.
Why Was a New Act Needed?
- Outdated Regulatory Framework: Indian agriculture has undergone major changes since 1966, including technological advances, expansion of private seed markets and emergence of new varieties.
- The existing framework is considered inadequate for these developments.
- Large Regulatory Gap: According to the Agriculture Minister, nearly 70% of seeds currently fall outside the ambit of the existing Seed Act, creating significant challenges for effective quality control.
- Fake & Substandard Seeds: Sale of counterfeit and poor-quality seeds can result in crop failure, loss of farm income and indebtedness.
- Existing penalties and mechanisms for fixing responsibility have been considered inadequate.
- Lack of Uniformity: Seed-related procedures differ across States, creating regulatory inconsistencies and difficulties in ensuring uniform standards.
Key Features of the Proposed Seed Act
- National Registration & QR-based Traceability: All seeds and planting material would require registration in a national register.
- Sale of unregistered seeds would be prohibited.
- Each seed packet would carry a QR code enabling farmers to trace its origin, manufacturer, laboratory clearance and movement through the supply chain.
- Protection of Farmers’ Traditional Seed Rights: Farmers would continue to have the right to use, exchange and sell traditional and farmers’ varieties.
- Registration of traditional seeds would not be mandatory, though farmers could voluntarily register their varieties.
- Farmers producing seeds for personal use, village-level distribution or even for a company would not require digital registration under the proposed provisions.
- Stricter Penalties: Violations would be divided into three categories:
- Minor Violation: Warning for first offence; up to ₹50,000 for second;
- Deliberate Violations: Such as failure to affix QR code, incorrect branding or non-disclosure of required information; ₹1 lakh for first; ₹2 lakh for second offence;
- Serious Offences: Including fake seeds, operating without registration and deliberate fraud; Up to ₹30 lakh and imprisonment
- Greater Role For States: State governments would be empowered to release new varieties on recommendations of State-level committees while adhering to national standards.
- All varieties would be maintained in a single national online register accessible to both the Centre and States.
- Seed Security Fund & Compensation: Every State would establish a Seed Security Fund, into which penalties and recoveries under the Act would be deposited.
- For verified seed failure and consequent farmer losses, a verification committee would facilitate compensation within 15 days.
- Farmers would also retain their right to seek compensation under the Consumer Protection Act.
Related Issues & Concerns
- Over-regulation: Mandatory registration and digital traceability could increase compliance costs, particularly for small seed producers.
- Digital Divide: QR-based systems need to remain accessible to farmers with limited digital literacy and connectivity.
- Centre–State Coordination: Uniform national standards must be balanced with State-specific agro-climatic requirements.
- Farmer Rights: Regulation must not inadvertently restrict traditional seed saving, exchange and community seed systems.
- Implementation Capacity: Effective seed testing, laboratories, inspections and grievance redressal are essential for the law to work in practice.
Way Forward
- The proposed Act should adopt a farmer-centric, risk-based regulatory approach. Extensive stakeholder consultation, transparent testing standards, adequate laboratory capacity and simple digital systems are necessary.
- Compensation mechanisms should be genuinely time-bound, while traditional seed systems and farmers’ rights must remain protected.
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