Pawar asks Par Affairs Ministry to push Seed Bill

New Delhi, Feb 8. Concerned over delay in the passage of the new Seed Bill, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said his department has requested Parliamentary Affairs Ministry to ensure that it is taken up for discussion in the forthcoming Budget Session. The National seed bill, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha in December 2004, aims to regulate the quality of hybrid seeds and check the sale of spurious seeds, besides increasing private participation in seeds production and distribution. "One of the important bills is pending for quite some time now. We have taken up with the Parliamentary affairs Ministry that new seed bill should be discussed in the Budget Session. If Parliament accords, a lot of issues will be resolved and will be helpful for the entire seed sector," Pawar said at a conference organised by National Seed Association. "I hope that the bill will come up for discussion in the Budget session of Parliament," he added. The Bill proposes to repeal and replace existing Seeds Act, 1966, for it does not deal with the quality control of genetically modified (GM) seeds. The legislation also envisages hiking penalties in case of those found selling non-certified seeds. Stressing upon the importance of seed sector to achieve 4 per cent farm growth, Pawar said: "Though we achieved self- sufficiency in cereal production, we continue to depend on imports of pulses and edible oils." Private participation in these crops is low. "While there are technological barriers in developing hybrids in pulses, success met with some of the oilseeds crops need to be pursued with vigour. This will help reduce the import bill," Pawar said. Pawar also mentioned, "My colleagues in the Finance Ministry are worried about higher import of pulses and edible oil. We have to increase domestic production of these two commodities for which the support of technological breakthrough in seeds and other inputs is required." The government is open to supporting a policy to promote development of new seeds in pulses and oilseeds, he added. Stressing the need to sell quality seeds at affordable price to farmers, the minister said: "The public and private sectors have to partner the process of change equally by brining in better products, supplement the technology transfer efforts of the government and ensure that we never have to go back to the era of food shortages." In the last 3-4 years, the government has taken several steps to encourage private industry participation in seed sector. The New Policy on Seed Development (NPSD) was revised to allow import of oilseeds and coarse cereals by using protocol procedure for trails, he noted.