Time to amend Seed Act to safeguard farmers’ interest, says Dr Prabhu

Patiala, December 17

“Seed distributors will have to insert the Package of Practices for the variety of seeds in the containers being sold so that the farmers take full advantage of adopting the recommendations made by the breeder of the variety to increase productivity”. The revelation was made by Dr KV Prabhu, chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ rights authority of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare at a scientist-farmer discussion at ICAR’s Collaborative Outstation Research Centre at Young Farmers Association, at Rakhra village. Prabhu further said this stipulation would be binding irrespective of a variety whether it is developed by an individual grower, society or a farm university during the last 15 years. 

Dr Prabhu said the authority would register all varieties developed during the last 15 years and the step was aimed at reducing the cost of cultivation and enhancing the profit of the grower. He said the farmers were blaming the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) for decrease in the yield of paddy, which had gone down this year by 10 to 20 per cent in the last Kharif season. Under the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009, the date for planting paddy was fixed from June 10 onwards and the Punjab Government following recommendation by the PAU changed it to June 20. “It delayed the ripening of paddy and in November when temperature fell, grain contained moisture. Due to this, the farmers had to face hardships in marketing. They further held the PAU responsible for farmers’ agony by not recommending the Pusa-44 variety of paddy for cultivation in Punjab, notwithstanding that the variety was released and notified by the Central Committee for determining the tenders and features of varieties for approving and notifying them”, he said. 

Many farmers said the PAU had taken no action to stop the sale and cultivation of unrecognised varieties such as CSR-212, Pusa Gold 666, Pili Usha and BR 105, which resulted in the loss of farmers to the gain of a few unscrupulous dealers and growers. Dr Prabhu said the Seed Act 1966, which was in force right from 1966 needed amendment to protect the farmers’ interests. “I hope that the Central Government takes action in safeguarding the farmers interest by making suitable amendments in the Act,” he said. — TNS