-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...
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A potential seedbed for PRIvate profits -R Ramakumar
-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...
More »Looking up: The farm hope -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express The ongoing PRIce recovery in major crops is in danger of being stymied by knee-jerk government response. A lot of analyst commentary on the latest quarterly GDP numbers for India has focused on the low growth in “nominal” terms: Gross value added (GVA) at current PRIces grew by just 6.3% year-on-year in July-September and 7.1% for APRIl-September. If this first-half trend holds for the rest of 2019-20, it would...
More »Cane farmers may have earned up to Rs.9,000 crore more under revenue-share, rather than FRP, model: CACP chief
-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Contrary to popular perception, opting for a revenue share, as recommended by the C Rangarajan panel in 2012, instead of the practice of paying a fair and remunerative PRIce (FRP) for sugarcane, would not have resulted in any loss for farmers. Rather, farmers would have gained Rs.8,000-9,000 crore more in the past 10 years, said Commission for Agricultural Costs and PRIces (CACP) Chairman Vijay Paul...
More »The draft seeds bill favours the industry over farmers -Suman Sahai
-Hindustan Times A 2001 law protects farmers’ interests. But the seeds bill neutralises many of the enabling measures granted in it There is a draft seeds bill awaiting Parliament, which seeks to replace the old Seed Act of 1966. A law regulating seed production and trade is needed to ensure that farmers are protected against spurious seeds, and that seed producers are obliged to put only seeds of good and reliable quality...
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