-The Hindu The country’s hybrid seed model for cotton favours Seed Companies over farmers Genetically Modified (GM) pest resistant Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market since their introduction in 2002. These now cover over 95% of the area under cotton, with the seeds produced entirely by the private sector. India’s cotton production in 2019 is projected as the highest ever: 354 lakh bales. Bt cotton’s role in increasing India’s cotton...

-The Hindu The new Seeds Bill is tilted against farmers’ interests and loaded in favour of Seed Companies. After passing through at least two versions, Seeds Bill 2019 is now under Parliament’s consideration. The earlier versions of the Bill, in 2004 and 2010, had generated heated debates. The present version promises to be no different. In 1994, India signed the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In 2002, India also...

-The Hindu Business Line The National Seed Association of India (NSAI), which represents top Seed Companies in the country, on Wednesday suggested some changes in the proposed Seed Bill 2019, including a more scientific definition of transgenic variety, enhanced farmer rights on seeds and enlisting the services of private firms for evaluating new varieties before seed registration. In letters written to Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Director General (ICAR) Trilochan Mahapatra...

-The Hindu Business Line Clause for compensation panel, regulation of seed prices scrapped New Delhi: The revised draft Seeds Bill 2019, which the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare placed in the public domain recently for suggestions and comments, seems to be a watered down version of a draft prepared about nine years ago by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Among other things, the new draft has done away with the...

-The Hindu Business Line RCEP will jeopardise India’s seed industry With Brexit now a certainty, the days of liberal globalization are numbered. Open borders, FTAs and multilateral agreements are no longer in vogue. However, India seems inclined to ink the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), perhaps the world’s biggest free trade agreement. This seems an ill-advised step. India boosts of a vibrant seed sector with public institutions and a variety of private...