SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT
ON
INDIAN SEED INDUSTRYINDIAN SEED INDUSTRYINDIAN SEED INDUSTRYINDIAN SEED INDUSTRY
Submitted to:
Under the Supervision of
Mr. Sridhar V.
Submitted by:
Namrata Rawat
PGPABM (2006-08)
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
DECLARATION
This is to declare that, I, Ms. Namrata Rawat, student of Post Graduate Programme in
Agribusiness Management (2006-2008), NIAM, JAIPUR, has given original data and
information to the best of my knowledge in the project report titled “Indian Seed
Industry” and that, no part of this information has been used for any other assignment
but for the fulfillment of the requirement towards the completion of the course.
Namrata Rawat
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ms. Namrata Rawat is a bonafide student of Post Graduate
Programme in Agribusiness Management (2006-2008), NIAM, Jaipur and has
participated as summer trainee in our company for the period May-June. She has
successfully completed her summer project titled “Indian Seed Industry”, towards the
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course.
Dated: (Mr. Sridhar V)
Project Guide
Yes Bank Ltd.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Miss Namrata Rawat, a bonafide student of Post Graduate
Program in Agri-Business Management (2006-08), NIAM, Jaipur has worked as
Summer Trainee in YES BANK LTD. for the period May-June. She has successfully
completed her Summer Project titled “Indian Seed Industry” towards the partial
fulfillment of the course.
Dated: (Dr. Kamal Mathur)
Director, PGPABM
NIAM, Jaipur
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to take this valuable opportunity to express my sincere thanks to Yes Bank Ltd.
for providing me a chance of learning. The project not only helped me to understand the Indian
Seed Industry, in depth, but widened my vision in general management too, by virtue of being
associated with an excellent and professional organization.
I would like to thank Mr. Kalyan Chakravarthy, Mr. Sridhar V and Mr. Raju Poosapati
for giving me an opportunity to work as a summer trainee in Yes Bank Ltd.
I am also thankful to Mrs. Suman Lata from Yes Bank Ltd. for her support during the
project.
This project would neither have been started nor completed without the encouragement
and support of many people, most notably the officials and staff of Yes Bank Ltd., and all those
good and kind hearted persons I met during these two months period.
I am also thankful to Dr. Kamal Mathur, Principal Coordinator, NIAM, for his guidance,
which has always been there with the students of PGPABM course and thanks to all the NIAM
faculty and staff, for their support on numerous occasions during the project.
I am thankful to all my seniors especially Mr. Amit Shekhar, Mr. Anuj Kumar
and Ms. Veena and my batchmates whose help at various stages of my project would
be always cherished and admired.
Thanks to Almighty and my deep regards for my loving parents who are the most valuable
possessions in my life and have always been there to support me in all my ups and downs.
The financial support from Yes Bank Ltd for this project is gratefully acknowledged.
Regards,
Namrata Rawat
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abbreviations 7
Executive summary 8
Research Objectives and methodology 9
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview of Global Seed Industry
1.2 Overview of Indian Seed Industry
10-17
2. History of Indian seed industry 18-19
3. Regulatory Perspective
3.1 Industry Regulation and Quality Control
3.1.1 The Seed Act, 1966 and Seed Rule,
1968
3.1.2 Seed Control Order, 1983
3.1 Phytosanitary Regulations
3.2.1 The Destructive Insect and Pest Act, 1914
3.2 Intellectual Property Rights
3.3.1 Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’
Right Act, 2001
3.3.2 National Seed Policy
20-22
4. Structure of Indian seed industry
4.1.1 Public
4.1.2 Private
4.1.3 Public-Private
23-29
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
5. Crop seed description
5.1 Cereals
5.1.1 Hybrid Rice
5.1.2 Hybrid Maize
5.2 Millets
5.2.1 Pearl Millet
5.3 Forage crops
5.3.1 Sorghum
5.4 Oilseeds
5.4.1 Sunflower
5.4.2 Soybean
5.5 Vegetables
5.6 Fibre crops
5.6.1 Cotton
30-73
6 Profile of Major Seed Companies 74-92
7 Case Study: GM crops in India 93-128
8 Issues and challenges in the Indian seed industry 129
9 SWOT Analysis 130-131
10 Recommendations 132-135
11 Annexures 136-145
12 Questionnaire 146-163
13 References 164
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
ABBREVIATIONS
NSC-National Seeds Corporation
SSC-State Seed Corporation
DBT-Department of Biotechnology
GEAC-Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
NBRI-National Botanical Research Institute
IARI-Indian Agricultural Research Institute
DRR-Directorate of Rice Research
CIMMYT- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
USDA-United State Department of Agriculture
HYV-High yielding variety
IRRI- International Rice Research Institute
SFCI- State Farms Corporation of India
APSSDC- Andhra Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation
KSSDC- Karnataka State Seed Development Corporation
WBSSDC- West Bengal State Seed Development Corporation
UPSTDC- Uttaranchal Seeds and Tarai Development Corporation
OPV-Open pollinated variety
SAI-Seed Association of India
MMBL- Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Ltd
SRR-Seed replacement ratio
SMR-Seed multiplication ratio
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ever increasing population of India is leading to diminishing food, land and clothes,
which are the basic needs of the humans. India is progressing in every aspect, whether
it is technology, production, etc but this progress may get limited by the geometrically
increasing population. The increase in consumption is much higher as compared to the
increasing production. It is very difficult for a country to grow in a situation when the
citizens of the country are not getting sufficient food, which is the most important need.
This is very true for India as nearly 25% of the population is unable to meet its food
requirements. Since now, we were talking about bringing of more and more land under
production so as to feed the growing population, but now the condition does not allow
thinking in this way. As land is becoming scarce because of industrialization, we can’t
think of bringing more land under cultivation. In this situation, the main concern has
been shifted from production to productivity. We have to think not only how to grow
more but how to grow more from same piece of land. Pesticides, insecticides, and
fertilizers can improve the production but cannot increase it beyond the potential yield.
So the only reform we can make is to improve the seeds, which are the basic input in
agriculture. Unless the seeds are productive, whatever is the amount of fertilizer,
pesticides, etc; they are of no use. Seeds are the critical input in an agriculture process. It
limits the efficiency of all other inputs. It is a perishable input and requires a good
research and development. So, with the focus moving from increased production to
increased productivity, the Indian Seed Industry needs to concentrate on the seed
improvement, by vigorous research and development in order to create seeds with
higher productivity, and to make India prosper by helping the mass fulfill its basic
needs.
To explore the potential of Indian seed industry, a study was done to know the status of
Indian seed industry. This report reflects the trends observed in the industry, the issues
and challenges, and the key segments for growth. Based on the analysis; the project
brings out the growth prospects in the Indian seed industry and recommendations of
actions for the growth.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Objectives:
1. Study of Global scenario of commercial Seed Industry.
2. Study of the emerging trends in the Seed Industry.
3. Analysis of Indian Seed Industry in context of growth.
4. Recommendation of actions for the growth of Indian Seed Industry.
Research Design:
The research was done through constructing questionnaire, interviewing key officials in the
Indian seed industry, secondary data collection from internet, magazines, and analyzing data
through the use of software packages like Microsoft Excel, SPSS.
Questionnaire:
A questionnaire was designed for the Key officials in the Seed Industry. The questions were
both open ended and closed ended.
Interviewing:
A meeting was organized at Seed Association of India towards fulfillment of objectives.
Data analysis:
The data was analyzed in software packages like Microsoft Excel and SPSS.
Limitations of study:
1. Limited time factor
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
GLOBAL SCENARIO OF SEED INDUSTRY
The commercial world seed market is approximately US$ 34 billion. It is dominated by
US Seed Industry. The Indian seed market is of US$ 1300 million, and ranks 6th in the
world seed market. Its size is approximately 4% of the size of World seed market.
ESTIMATED SIZE OF DOMESTIC MARKET FOR SEED IN SELECTED
COUNTRIES (IN US$ MILLION) IN 2007
Source: www.worldseed.org
The commercial world seed market is approximately US$ 34 billion.
The US based seed company Monsanto is dominating the seed market with more than
20% share in the global proprietary seed market.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
WORLD’S TOP 10 SEED COMPANIES
BASED ON 2006 SEED REVENUES
Company Country Seed sales(US$ m) in 2006
Monsanto US 4,028
Dupont US 2,781
Syngenta Switzerland 1,743
Groupe Limagrain France 1,035
Land O' Lakes US 756
KWS AG Germany 615
Bayer Crop Science Germany 430
Delta & Pine Land (acquisition
by Monsanto pending)
US 418
Sakata Japan 401
DLF-Trifolium Denmark 352
Source: ETC Group
The value of the overall commercial seed market was $22,900 million in 2006 (includes
seeds purchased from public breeding programs).
Source: Context Network
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
SEED EXPORTS (US $ MILLION) IN 2005
Country Seeds exports (US$ million)
USA 922
Netherlands 784
France 688
Germany 340
Canada 215
Denmark 178
Italy 171
Chile 171
Belgium 123
Mexico 109
Hungary 106
India 16
Others 1081
Total 4904
Source: www.worldseed.org
India contributes 0.32% to the total value earned from seed exports in the world.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
SEED IMPORTS (US $ MILLION) IN 2005
Country Seeds imports (US$ million)
USA 506
Mexico 372
France 332
Netherlands 329
Spain 305
Germany 301
Italy 271
Canada 210
United Kingdom 134
Belgium 129
Japan 127
Poland 110
Russian Federation 109
India 21
Others 1607
Total 4863
Source: www.worldseed.org
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
CONSOLIDATION IN THE SEED INDUSTRY
Year Partner
Companies
Nature of
transaction
Transaction
value
Strategic interest
April 1998 Monsanto and
Mahyco
Monsanto
acquires 26%
stake in
Mahyco
Rs 182 crore Mahyco has strong dealer distributor
network in India so Monsanto doesn’t need
to set up its own network and gets a ready
team to promote its products into the
country.
March 2002 Emergent Genetics
Inc., USA and Paras
Extra Growth Seeds
Company Limited,
Hyderabad, India
Acquisition of
Paras by
Emergent
Genetics
US $25 million The acquisition enabled Emergent Genetics
to consolidate its presence in the high
volume and high value hybrid cotton and
also gain entry into vegetable market in
India.
December
2002 Dupont’s Pioneer Hibred International Inc. and Denghai Seed Group, China
JV’s
Shangdong
Denghai
Pioneer Seeds
Co’ formed
Pioneer can gain entry into Chinese corn market, which is second in size after US corn market. By launching its high yielding corn hybrids, Pioneer can aim for market leadership in the country.
December
2002 Savia SA (holding company of Seminis Inc.) and Fox Paine and Company LLC
Strategic
Investment of
Fox Paine
through
acquisition of
Seminis
shares
US $222 million Seminis has got benefit from the new capital structure, strategic environment and expertise of Fox Paine. Seminis’ new growth plans in the emerging markets expected to get a boost as a result of this alliance.
January
2003
Delta and Pine Land
Company and Dow
Agro Sciences
Technical
collaboration
Delta Pine can bring transgenic technology
with insect resistance to its commercial
cotton varieties by sourcing it from Dow.
March 23,
2005
Monsanto and
Seminis
Complete
acquisition of
Seminis by
Monsanto
$1.4 billion in
cash and
assumed debt
Monsanto can use the most diverse
germplasm pool of vegetable seeds. It has
provided Monsanto readymade leading
position in untapped seed segment.
April 2005 Emergent Genetics and Monsanto
Acquisition of
Emergent
Genetics’
$300 million Emergent gives Monsanto a branded cotton seed presence that complements its germplasm development and licensing in its Cotton States business, forming a
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
businesses
other than
Emergent
Genetics
Vegetable
A/S located in
Denmark by
Monsanto
branded and licensed seed platform for cotton that mirrors the business model Monsanto has established in its corn and soybean businesses.
May 2007 Bayer Crop Science
and US cotton seed
company Stoneville
of Monsanto
Bayer Crop
Science
acquires US
cotton seed
company
Stoneville of
Monsanto
US-$ 310
million
The purchase of the US Stoneville business
is an extension of the company’s strategy
to grow its presence in the US cotton
market via new product development,
organic growth and acquisitions.
June 2007 Delta and Pine Land
and Monsanto
Monsanto
acquires Delta
and Pine Land
$1.5 billion The takeover means that Monsanto will command a dominant position in one of the world's most important agricultural trade commodities as D&PL subsidiaries in 13 countries - including major markets such as China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and Pakistan and that millions of cotton farmers will be under increased pressure to accept genetically modified (GM) cottonseed.
July 2007 Bayer crop Science’
Nunhems and Seed
Ex (Korean
vegetable seed
company)
Acquisition of
Seed Ex by
Bayer Crop
Science’
Nunhems
This acquisition provides the company to strengthen its market position in Hot Pepper and Brassica in Asia. The SeedEx team with its well recognized breeding competence and market know-how can be an excellent reinforcement of Nunhems’ global teams.
Pending Golden Seeds,
Bangalore and
Advanta India Ltd.
Advanta India
Ltd. is going
to acquire
Golden Seeds
Rs 601 million
and 175 million
for inventory
and receivables
This acquisition provides the company a platform in vegetables seeds and will help the company to develop a strong position in the Indian and Asian vegetables seed market. The company hopes to leverage the strong brand equity of Golden Seeds, their proprietary germplasm base, excellent breeding programs and outstanding production capabilities to establish a leadership position in this market segment for the company.
Source: Industry sources
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY
In India, seeds can be obtained from various sources like state agricultural universities,
private companies and retained seed of previous season. Today Indian Seed Market is
flooded with a large number of private and public players, but it is still dominated by
the farm saved seed.
The organized seed market of India is about Rs. 5300 crores, in which the hybrids
contribute the major share. Out of this, private sector has about 60% share and the
public sector has 40% share by value.
In case of hybrids, private sector has 85-90% market share by value, whereas the seed
production of open pollinated varieties is dominated by the public sector. No data is
available regarding the farm saved seeds used by the farmers, but mostly it is seen in
open pollinated varieties.
The Indian seed industry has about 4% share in the Global seed market.
The seed market in the country is dominated by varietal seeds that farmers retain from
prominent food and commercial crops.
The seed replacement ratio is very low for most of the crops exception being cotton and
some vegetables. For a productive agriculture, seed replacement ratio should be at least
30%.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Earlier the R&D was confined to public sector only, but not with the coming up of large
number of multinationals in the Indian seed market, creating huge investments, the
private sector has also come up with their R&D.
Private companies are trying out aggressively to find out the new combinations.
R&D INVESTMENT BY SEED COMPANIES
Name of Seed Company R&D Investment (Rs. Lakhs)
Ajit Seeds Ltd. 346
Ankur Seeds Pvt. Ltd. 313
Emergent genetics India Pvt. Ltd. 323
Ganga Kaveri Seeds Pvt. Ltd. 138
Indo American Hybrid Seeds (India) Ltd. 169
Krishidhan Seeds Ltd. 415
Namdhari Seeds Ltd. 201
Nirmal Seeds Pvt. Ltd. 114
Nunhems Seeds Ltd. 147
Rasi Seeds Ltd. 112
Seminis Vegetables Seeds India Ltd. 170
Tulsi Seeds Pvt. Ltd. 120
Source: DSIR Annual Report 2005-2006
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
HISTORY OF INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY
The history of Indian seed industry can be traced back to 1963 with the opening of
National Seeds Corporation. In the 1960’s, the introduction of high yielding varieties of
Lerma Rojo and Sonora-64 of wheat led to green revolution in the country. The food
grain production was increased considerably which changed India from a hunger
starved nation to a nation which can fulfill most of its food need by itself. With this, the
Government realized that India should go for seed production and maintenance of seed
stocks to meet the food security needs of the people of India and so that it can be used
at the time of need. Then in the year 1963, National Seeds Corporation was established
for the purpose of seed production, training, quality control and extension activities in
seeds which opened the doors for public sector in the Seed Industry. Nine State Seeds
Corporation were also established with the support of World Bank, for production and
marketing of seeds in respective states. Their number was increased to thirteen later on.
These are mostly confined to the production of certified seeds of high volume; low
value crops like rice and wheat, and had a limited presence in hybrid seed production.
They lagged behind in research and depended on Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) and State Agricultural Universities for their breeder seed
requirements.
The New Policy on Seed development was established in 1988 with the objective of
providing an appropriate climate for the seed industry in order to utilize the available
and prospective opportunities, safeguard the interests of Indian farmers and conserve
the agro-biodiversity.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Although some private companies were already there in the seed business but after this
policy, some more domestic companies entered in the seed business; thus enhancing the
involvement of private sector. These companies were involved in the production of
high value, low volume crops like vegetables.
When the winds of globalization and liberalization blew, all the countries got trapped
by it, and the trade with other countries as well as entry into other countries became
easy. Taking its advantage, many multinational seed companies like Monsanto entered
India through joint ventures with Indian companies. They targeted seed segments with
higher margins and thus are leading the seed industry in India.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE
The Destructive Insects and Pets Act, 1914
This act was enacted to prevent the introduction and spread of destructive pests affecting crops.
This act gave the power of regulating or prohibiting the import of any article or class of articles which may cause infection to any crop generally by insects or class of insects into India as well as transport from state to state to the Central government. Penalty was kept for persons who knowingly exports any article or insect from another country or transports any article or insect from one state to another in India in contravention of a notification issued under this act.
No suit, protection or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
Breeder’s Seed Supply, 1986
Before 1986, the public sector institutions used to supply the breeder’s seed to the National Seeds Corporation for the production of foundation seed, which was then sold to the private sector for production of certified seed. This was a long process and the spread of improved publicly bred varieties was slow. Therefore the government decided to sell breeder’s seed of publicly bred self-pollinated varieties to private seed companies having adequate facilities and manpower to produce foundation and certified seeds. This decision helped to alleviate the shortage of certified seeds and stimulate seed production. New Policy on Seeds Development, 1988
It formed the basis of promotion and regulation of the Seed Industry, by removing the ban on private seed companies on the import of commercial seeds, reducing the restrictions on the import of germplasm and making the breeder’s seeds available to
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
these companies. New companies were allowed to start research, production and supply of seeds of proprietary hybrids. After this policy, there was lot of investment by the domestic seed companies, the output was increased, and the focus was shifted from high volume, low value crops like cereals to the low volume high value crops, like vegetables.
New Industrial Policy, 1991
Before 1991, foreign investors were allowed to have equity participation only up to 40 percent. From 1991, after the enactment of New Industrial Policy, the foreign investors were given permission to establish equity participation up to 51 per cent in priority sectors, including the seed sector. Non-resident Indians are allowed 100 per cent participation. The investors had to get the approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001
Under this, a Plant Varieties & Farmers' Rights Protection (PVP) Authority was established to undertake registration of extant and new plant varieties through the Plant Varieties Registry on the basis of varietal characteristics.
The registration of new plant varieties, documentation of plant varieties registered under the PVP Act was enacted.
The farmers were given the right to save, use, exchange, share or sell farm produce of all varieties, with the provision that farmers shall not be entitled to sell branded seed of a protected variety under the brand name.
The rights of researchers to use the seed/planting material of protected varieties for bonafide research and breeding of new plant varieties was ensured.
A National Gene Fund was established for implementation of the benefit sharing arrangement, and payment of compensation to village communities for their contribution to the development and conservation of plant genetic resources and also to promote the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources.
It promoted the growth of a healthy seed industry by fostering regular interaction amongst the private and public researchers, seed companies and development agencies.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
It laid emphasis on the technical collaboration and relationship with regional and international organizations so as to have upgraded knowledge about global developments in the field of Plant Variety Protection.
National Seed Policy, 2002
It was made to enhance the seed replacement rates, to increase the production of quality seeds by enhancing the role for the private sector, to create the facilitative environment for the growth of competitive and localized seed industry, to encourage import of useful germplasm, to boost the exports, to accelerate the use of biotechnology for food and nutritional security, to enhance seed production so that wide range of seeds of superior quality is available in adequate quantity on a timely basis, to upgrade quality of farmer saved seeds, to form an appropriate climate for the seed industry to utilize available and prospective opportunities, to safeguard the interests of Indian farmers and to conserve the agro-biodiversity, and to give seed crop insurance scheme to provide effective risk cover to seed producers. It was made for the promotion of domestic industry, for liberalization of trade, for production of hybrid seeds and HYV at faster rate and for the abolishment of local taxation on the sale of seeds.
It also boosted private sector involvement, a lot of multinational seed companies entered Indian seed market. Also a gene bank was established to save the Indian germplasm.
Seeds Bill, 2004:
The changes which took place in the seed sector, led to the replacement of the existing Seeds Act, 1966, by a new legislation. The new act, has been created with the purpose of creating a facilitative climate for the growth of the seed industry; enhancing seed replacement rates for various crops; boosting the export of seeds and encourage the import of useful germplasm, and creating a conducive atmosphere for the application of frontier sciences in varietal development and for enhanced investment in research and development.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
STRUCTURE OF INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY
Although a lot of domestic and multinational companies have entered the Indian seed
market, and developed a large number of varieties/hybrids for different agro climatic
conditions, even then a large number of farmers are using the farm saved seeds. The
seed replacement ratio in many crops except cotton and some vegetables is still low. It is
due to the habit of saving seeds by the Indian farmers. The farmers do not buy new
seeds every year, and use their saved seeds or seeds from other farmers. Thus the seed
trade occurs as local exchange between farmers. Earlier in 60’s, the seed sector was
dominated by public sector, but after enactment of New Seed Policy in 1988, many
private seed companies entered into Indian seed market with large investments. Also
after the Government decision of using biotechnology for crop improvement, many
multinationals with huge R&D base and capital investment have entered the Indian
Seed Industry. The share of pubic sector and private sector in the seed market is
changing continuously and is moving in favor of the private sector. And now the
situation is such that the ratio of private sector to the public sector has come to 60:40 in
terms of market share by value.
PRODUCTION OF BREEDER AND FOUNDATION SEEDS AND DISTRIBUTION
OF CERTIFIED SEEDS IN INDIA
Source: www.agricoop.nic.in
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Source: www.agricoop.nic.in
Public Sector:
After the green revolution, the Government of India thought to enhance the seed
production in the country. For this, it established National Seeds Corporation (NSC) in
1963, and thus the Public sector entered the Seed Sector. It was opened for the
production and distribution of certified seeds to the farmers all over India, and for
imparting training to the institutions and persons related to seed industry. As it was
unable to cater the needs of large farming population of India, so Government
established 13 State Seed Corporations across different states in the country to cater the
needs of seed in different states. Research is carried out mostly by Indian Council of
Agricultural Research and State Agricultural Universities. Seed multiplication is done
on the farms of Public sector organizations. They have a strong seed distribution
network.
Private Sector:
With the ease of regulations by the Government after the New Seed Policy in 1988, the
private companies came into the scene with a big bang. The companies invested a lot of
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
capital in the seed sector. Research is done by some companies itself and the others
depend on other companies or have collaboration with public sector organizations and
agricultural universities. Most of the companies multiply their seeds in the field of
contract farmers. It has more than 60% share in market in terms of value.
SEED SUPPLY CHAIN (Public Sector)
Source: www.seednetindia.gov.in
GOVT. OF
INDIA
ICAR
ICAR
INSTITUTES
SAUs
NSC, SSCs,
SFCI, etc
DISTRIBUTORS
FARMERS
AGENCIES
AGENCIES
Allocation for
production
Production of
Breeder seed
Allocation for
production
Production of
Breeder seed
Allotment of
Breeder seed Indent of
Breeder seed
Lifting
Certified seed
production
Certified seed
production
Foundation
seed
production
Foundation seed
to certified seed
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
SEED SUPPLY CHAIN
VARIETIES & FOUNDATION SEED RELEASED FROM STATE RESEARCH
INSTITUTES, VARIETIES INTRODUCED BY PRIVATE SEED COMPANIES,
IMPORTED SEED
SSCs
(Breeder)
Producer
Distributor
COOPERATIVE
(Breeder)
Producer
Distributor
PRIVATE SECTOR
(Breeder)
Producer
Distributor
STATE RETAIL
OUTLETS
COOPERATIVE
OUTLETS
PRIVATE RETAIL
OUTLETS
FARMER
WHOLESALER/
REGIONAL
DISTRIBUTOR
WHOLESALER/
REGIONAL
DISTRIBUTOR
RETAILERS RETAILERS
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
CHANGING SHARE OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR
IN THE INDIAN SEED MARKET
Source: Planning Commission
Public Private Partnership
Some of the private seed companies have partnerships with Public sector organizations
like Crop research institutes, State agricultural universities for their research, extension,
promotion, etc.
COLLABORATIONS OF SOME SEED COMPANIES
Seed company Organization Type of partnership
Nuziveedu Seeds ICRISAT Seed parent development in
Sorghum and Bajra
ICAR Coordinated trials
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
IARI
CICR
DMR
DRR
DOR
NRC on Sorghum
NBPGR
Germplasm exchange, Capacity
building
ANGRAU, Hyderabad
UAS, Dharwad
TNAU, Coimbature
JNKVV, Jabalpur
PKV Akola
PKV Rahmi
PKV Parbhani
PAU Ludhiana
HAU, Hissar
Multi location trials, paid up
trials, collaborative research
projects, transfer of breeder seeds
and technology
DBT (Min of S&T) Multi location testing, large scale
trials of GM crops
GEAC (Mini E) Multi location testing, large scale
trials as per Biosafety regulations
Ministry of Agriculture
State Govts.
On farm testing, foundation seed
sale permit
NBRI Lucknow Indigenous trangenic technology
Mahyco ICRISAT Access to germplasm of Hybrid
Bajra
Texas A&M,
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Georgia University
ICRISAT Collaborative project
IARI Licensing
Monsanto;
Cornell University
Transgenic technology
Pro Agro Seeds University of
Agricultural Sciences,
Dharwad
Germplasm development,
technology transfers, multi-
location trials, development of
value added trait
College of
Agriculture, Naigaon
Parent seed production,
foundation seed production,
hybrid seed production of cotton
seed
DRR
Expertise rice productivity
improvement
Government of UP
Promotion of high yielding hybrid
rice in the state
UP State Department of
Agriculture
Product testing and
demonstrations in various regions
of UP
Source: Industry sources
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
CROP SEEDS DESCRIPTION
CEREAL SEEDS
HYBRID RICE
India has largest area of 44mha under rice and ranks second with production of about
91 m tonnes, which is 22% of world’s total production. The area under hybrid rice in
India is almost 1mha in 2006.
Source: USDA
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Source: FAO
In rice export, India ranks second after Thailand.
SEED PRODUCTION OF RICE IN INDIA
Breeder Seed Production in Quintals 2000-01
Foundation Seed (Quintals) in 2001-02
Certified Seed (Lakh Quintals) in 2001-02
1468 219294 35.48
Source: www.indiastat .gov. in
PROJECTED REQUIREMENT OF BREEDER, FOUNDATION AND CERTIFIED SEED FOR CROPS IN INDIA (2006-2007)
Crop Area (lakh ha)
Seed Rate (Kg/ha)
SMR SRR Projected (%)
Breeder (Quintals)
Foundation (Quintals)
Certified (Quintals)
Paddy 450.0 2359.44 82333.3 3362500
Hybrid 10.0 15.0 100 100 15.00 1500.0 150000
V (Transplant)
250.0 35.0 75 15 233.33 17500.0 1312500
V (Broadcast)
190.0 100.0 30 10 2111.11 63333.3 1900000
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
The successful commercialization of hybrid rice in many parts of the world is linked to
the development of hybrid seed production technology. The market size of hybrid rice
seed in India is about 200 crores. (Industry sources)
SALE PRICE OF BREEDER SEED OF RICE
(Rs. per quintal)
Crop Variety/Hybrid/Line Sale Price (Rs/q)
in 2006-07
Rice Coarse varieties 2000
Medium varieties 2400
Basmati varieties 3800
Rice Hybrid A line 12500
B line 3000
R line 3000
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
SALE OF HYBRID RICE SEEDS
Year Seeds Sold (tonnes)
2004 6,100
2005 8,500
2006 More than 12,000
Source: Industry sources
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000
Hybrid Rice Seed
Consumption
(tonnes)
Uttar
Pradesh
Bihar,
Jharkhand
& M.P.
Punjab &
Haryana
Gujarat,
A.P.
State
HYBRID RICE SEED CONSUMPTION IN DIFFERENT
STATES IN 2006
Unlike the earlier pattern of consumption, in which the high yielding varieties (HYV) were confined to Punjab, Haryana, coastal Andhra and Tamil Nadu, the new hybrid rice technology is being taken up more by the farmers of agriculturally less-prosperous
states.
Comparative Cost-Return Profile for Hybrid Rice Seed Production and Commercial Inbred Rice Production in India (1997-98 Crop Year)
Cost and Returns Hybrid seed production (US$/ha)
Inbred rice production (US$/ha)
COST
Seed 70 14
Fertilizers and Manure 123.8 86.8
Gibberellic Acid 50 -
Labour 315 112.5
Plant protection 15 13.8
Miscellaneous 71.2 11.9
Total input cost return 645 239
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Yield(kg/ha) 1250 5950
Market price(US$/kg) 1.0 0.1173
Return to hybrid seed 1250 -
Return to by-product(male seed & straw)
212.5 41.1
Gross Return 1462.5 739
Net return 817.4 500
Unit cost of production(US$/kg)
0.516 0.040
Source: Janaiah and Hossain , 2000 (FAO)
NETWORK OF HYBRID RICE SEED PRODUCTION
Source: FAO
NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE
TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT
Nucleus and Breeder
Seeds
• Research Institutes
• Universities
SEED PRODUCTION
Foundation seeds and
Certified Seeds
• Public seed companies
• Private seed companies
TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER
• Extension
• NGOs
• Farmer Associations
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
The Public sector plays a leading role in the technology development and the
commercial seed production is done by the private seed companies. Seed companies
keep large margin in hybrid rice seed sale as it is needed to keep the private seed
companies in business, due to small demand for hybrid rice seed and the dispersed
market of hybrid rice seed. However, as the technology picks up, economies of scale
should reduce the cost of production and increase seed yields. This would allow seed
companies to sell hybrid seed at a lower price to farmers. Greater competition in the
seed business will also force seed companies to reduce the selling price of hybrid rice.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF RICE IN DIFFERENT STATES OF INDIA
STATE SRR(%)
2004 2005
Andhra Pradesh 52 94(hybrid)
58 100(hybrid)
Karnataka 29 29
Tamil Nadu 12 14
Kerala 19 19
Gujarat 19.9 21.3
Maharashtra 20 19
Rajasthan 2.6 5.2
Madhya Pradesh 3.4 6.4
Uttar Pradesh 17.9 20.3
Haryana 14 17
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Punjab 15 19
Himachal Pradesh 12.8 14
Jammu & Kashmir 3.4 5.5
Orissa 4.7 6.8
West Bengal 25.3 25.5
Bihar 10 12
Chattisgarh 5.8 7.1
Assam 37.2 7.9
Uttaranchal 9.28 14.7
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
India is a country with a large population of more than 1 billion. Rice is the main food
for the people of India. It is cultivated on a large area, and the production is also high as
compared to other countries but to meet the increasing demand of exponentially
increasing Indian population, the need is there to increase the production. Since the
land is limited so to increase the production, the only option is to increase the
productivity of rice. Hybrid rice varieties give about 20-25% (1 - 1.5/ha) higher yields
than the inbred high yielding varieties and hence lead to higher on-farm productivity.
Also the quantity of seed required is less so using same quantity of seeds can give better
results. Rice is a self pollinated crop, and so it needs male sterility system for hybrid
seed production. It is highly labour intensive and requires adequate seed industry
infrastructure. Keeping these points in view, India can go for large scale hybrid rice
seed production, and further go for export for the generation of revenue. Large scale
employment opportunities can be generated through hybrid rice seed production.
The hybrid rice seed technology can help the farmers to increase their returns.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
COMPARISON BETWEEN HYBRID RICE VARIETIES AND CONVENTIONAL
HIGH YIELDING VARIETIES
Advantages of hybrid rice varieties over conventional high yielding varieties
(1) Quantity of seeds required is small.
(2) Resistant to major pests and diseases thus leading to less use of pesticides, herbicides
thus decreasing cost.
(3) High yield (1-1.5tonnes/ha higher).
(4) Short duration.
Disadvantages of using hybrid rice varieties
(1) Cost of seeds is higher (2.5 times higher) than conventional high yielding varieties
SOME OF THE RICE HYBRIDS RELEASED
Name of
Hybrid
Parentage Recommended
for the State
Duration
(days)
Yield
(T/Ha)
APHR-1 IR-58025A/
Vajram
Andhra Pradesh 130-135 7.14
APHR-2 IR-62829A/
MTU-9992
Andhra Pradesh 120-125 7.52
CORH-1 IR-62829A/
IR-10198
Tamil Nadu 110-115 6.08
KRH-1 IR-58025A/
IR-9761
Karnataka 120-125 6.02
CNRH-3 IR-2829A/ West Bengal 125-130 7.49
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Ajaya
DRRH-1 IR-58025A/
IR-40750
Andhra Pradesh 125-130 7.30
KRH-2 IR-58025A/
KMR-3
Karnataka 130-135 7.40
Pant Sankar
Dhan-1
IR-58025A/
UPRI-93-133
Uttar Pradesh 115-120 6.80
CORH-2 IR-58025A/
C-20R
Tamil Nadu 120-125 6.25
ADTRH-1 IR-58025A/
IR-66
Tamil Nadu 115-120 7.10
Sahyadri IR-8025A/
BR-827-35
Maharashtra 125-130 6.15
Narendra
Shankar Dha
n-2
IR-8025A/
NDR-3026
Uttar Pradesh 125-130 6.15
PHB-71 -- Haryana, UP, Tamil Nadu 130-135 7.86
UPRH-27 IR-58025A/
UPRI-92-133
Plains of Uttar Pradesh 115-120 6.80
PA-6201 -- Eastern and some parts of
Southern India
125-130 6.18
Pusa RH-10 Pusa- 6A/
PRR-78
Delhi, Punjab, Uttaranchal 125 -
Hybrid-6444 6CO-2/
6MO-5
Andhra Pradesh, Orissa,
Maharashtra, Tripura,
Uttar Pradesh,
Uttaranchal
135-140 6 - 8
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
HRI-120 -- -- -- --
27P-02 -- -- -- --
RH-204 -- -- -- --
HRI-152 -- Punjab, Tamil Nadu -- 6.58
Source: Industry Sources
The total area under hybrid rice in 2001 was 200,000ha whereas in 2003 was 2,80,000 ha. (Source: International Rice Research Institute)
Large scale seed production of five hybrids viz., DRRH-1, KRH-2, Sahyadri, PHB-71 and PA 6201 has been taken up by the public and private sector seed agencies.
The area under hybrid rice is 1 mha out of the total area under rice (45mha) (Source:www.indiastat.com)
99%
1%
Area under conventional rice in India(ha)
Area under hybrid rice in India(ha)
According to FAO, the area under hybrid rice in 1990 was 10% of the world rice area but it produced 20% of the total rice production. As India has a large area under rice and if this area under conventional rice is replaced by hybrid rice, then India can not only feed its ever increasing population but can also export a large quantity.
The market leader in hybrid rice seed production (one-third share) is Pro Agro Seeds of Bayer Crop Science. The other companies involved in hybrid rice seed production are
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Pioneer Hi-Bred, United Phosphorus Ltd (through Advanta India), Mahyco, Shriram Bioseed Genetics India and JK Agri-Genetics Ltd.
Among the public sector seed agencies, National Seed Corporation (NSC), State Farms Corporation of India (SFCI), Andhra Pradesh State Seed Development Corporation (APSSDC), Karnataka State Seed Development Corporation (KSSDC), West Bengal State Seed Development Corporation (WBSSDC), and Uttaranchal and Tarai Seed Development Corporation (UPTSDC) are presently engaged in hybrid rice seed production, but on much smaller scale.
PROSPECTS FOR HYBRID RICE SEED PRODUCTION IN INDIA
Hybrid rice is likely to become popular and adopted in large acreage during the next
decade. Huge quantities of hybrid rice seed will be needed. Thus there is ample scope
for all the private and public sector seed agencies in India to produce large quantities of
hybrid rice seed in the years ahead to popularize rice hybrids. But In India, the hybrid rice
cultivation is not showing much increase and is mostly confined to only research and
demonstration field plots. The reason behind this is not other than the lack of
understanding of hybrids production and lack of seeds. The farmers are still using the
farm saved seeds, whereas hybrids can not be used more than once. The companies
should also provide knowledge regarding the hybrid seeds and the agronomic practices
which should be followed to the farmers, so that farmers can know the technology
better, buy the seeds every year and get higher yield. The extension system should be
made strong.
Also the farmers of India are mainly poor, and they cannot afford high cost seeds, so it
is must to train them about the cultivation. They should be given the knowledge
regarding the benefits of hybrid seeds like less quantity of seed required, less protection
measures. Due to lack of knowledge, they are using the same quantity of seeds as that
of the conventional hybrids, and are thus getting less return.
Hybrid rice can also be grown successfully in saline soils and uplands, which is the
prevalent condition of land in India. This technology is very important for food security
in a country like India with a large population. Also it requires larger labour force
which is available in abundance in India, so more and more area under rice should be
taken under hybrid rice, and the seed production of hybrid rice should be increased.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
HYBRID MAIZE
Maize is one of the important cereal crop cultivated in India as the first coordinated
crop improvement project was launched on maize by ICAR in 1957. It is cultivated in
8.3 m ha area which is about 5% area under maize in the world. The production of
maize in India is 15 million metric tonnes which is about 2% of the world. The yield is
1.81 metric tones per hectare which is very low in comparison with the world’s average
yield of 4.71 metric tones per hectare. (Source: USDA, 2007)
PERCENTAGE BREAKUP OF THE
PRODUCTION OF MAIZE IN WORLD IN 2007
6%3%
21%
3%
7%39%
2%
19%EU-25
Mexico
China
Argentina
Brazil
US
India
Others
Source: USDA
Type of Hybrids in Maize:
Single cross hybrids: It is the cross between two inbred lines.
Parent A X Parent B
Hybrid
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Modified single cross hybrids: It is the cross between two sister line female cross and
an inbred male.
AXA B
Hybrid
Double cross hybrids: It is the cross between two single cross evolving from different
inbreds.
AXB CXD
Hybrid
Three way cross hybrids: It is the cross between a single cross used as female and an
inbred used as a male.
AXB C
Hybrid
COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAIZE HYBRIDS
The production of single cross hybrids is costly. The yield of the seed line is low as the
parental lines suffer from an inbreeding depression. Due to this reason, large areas are
utilized for generating the necessary quantity of hybrid seed. This makes the seed
production expensive. Earlier, the expansion of hybrid maize seed was based on the
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
double cross technique, but the plant resulting from a double cross has lower yields
compared to the single cross. The three way crosses is also not much effective as single
cross, it tends to fall between single and double crosses in terms of costs, variability and
yield, so the trend in hybrid maize has been towards a greater use of single cross
hybrids.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) allocates 18 per
cent of its maize programme funds to hybrids. Around 13 per cent goes to development
of open pollinated varieties and 30 per cent to population improvement.
The seed multiplication ratio of maize varieties is 1:80 and maize hybrids is 1:100.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF MAIZE IN 2004-05
Seed Replacement Ratio
State Variety Hybrid
Andhra Pradesh 100%
Madhya Pradesh 16.9%
Karnataka 100%
Maharashtra 60%
Uttar Pradesh 12.25%
Rajasthan 17.8%
Tamil Nadu 2% 100%
Gujarat 100%
Himachal Pradesh 100%
Jammu & Kashmir 3.3%
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Orissa 0.9%
West Bengal 20%
Bihar 40%
Chattisgarh 8.8%
Assam 4.4%
Uttaranchal 2.3%
Punjab 69%
Source: www.seednet.gov in
The seed production of Maize is increasing every year. It is evident from the fact that
the seed replacement ratio of maize is increasing every year in India.
Source: Seed Association of India and Seednet India
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
The Seed Association of India has projected that in the year 2020, maize hybrids will
cover 90% area under maize, and the seed replacement ratio will reach to 100%.
The sale price of breeder seed of Maize is uniform over the past 4 years.
SALE PRICE OF BREEDER SEED
(Rs. per quintal)
Variety/Hybrid/Line 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
Inbred lines 9000 9000 9000 9000
Varieties & Composites 3000 3000 3000 3000
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
MILLET SEEDS
PEARL MILLET
Pearl Millet is an important millet crop with more than 55% of the global millet
production. Globally, it is cultivated in about 29 m ha and support more than 100 m
people. (Source: ICRISAT)
Source: Deptt. Of Agriculture and Cooperation
Source: Deptt. Of Agriculture and Cooperation
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Source: Deptt. Of Agriculture and Cooperation
Source: Seed Association of India
Since 1982, 59 cultivars (14 OPVs and 45 hybrids) have been released in India.
No. of Hybrids developed Developing Agency
5 ICRISAT
28 NARS
12 Private sector
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
No. of OP varieties developed Developing Agency
5 ICRISAT
9 NARS
More than 70 hybrids (officially released and truthfully labeled) are currently cultivated on about 50% of the total pearl millet area in India. Together, improved hybrids and OPVs are cultivated on 65% of the total pearl millet area.
After 2001-02, there has been a sharp increase in the distribution of certified seeds of
Pearl Millet, which became somewhat stagnant after 2002-03. The Seed Association of
India has projected that in 2020, the certified seed distribution of Pearl Millet will reach
39.92 thousand tones. It has also projected that the SRR will be 100% by 2020, and
hybrids will cover 80% area.
Until the late 1980s, the major role in the development of millet variety, multiplication
of seeds and their distribution was played by the public sector, but in 1990’s, private
firms also started the distribution of seeds by taking varieties from public sector and
then bulking them. Traditionally, only licensed firms were allowed to operate
domestically in India, but after the reformation in Seed regulation in 1980’s, the
multinational companies also entered the millet seed market in India.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF PEARL MILLET IN DIFFERENT STATES
IN 2004-05
Seed Replacement Ratio in 2004-05
State Variety Hybrid
Andhra Pradesh 53% 100%
Madhya Pradesh 43.98%
Karnataka 27% 100%
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Maharashtra 74% 100%
Uttar Pradesh 50.54%
Tamil Nadu 16% 100%
Rajasthan 44.68%
Gujarat 100%
India 55.36%
Source: www.seednet.gov in
The Seed Multiplication rate is 1:200.
UNIFORM SALE PRICE OF BREEDER SEED
(Rate Rs. per quintal)
Variety/Hybrid/Line 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
A Line 13000 13000 13000 13000
B Line 6600 6600 6600 6600
R Line 5500 5500 5500 5500
Varieties and composites 5500 5500 5500 5500
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
FORAGE CROP SEEDS
SORGHUM
Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) is the fifth major cereal crop in the world after wheat, rice,
maize and barley. It is grown in about 99 countries of the world. The global area under
sorghum in 2006-07 was 39.57 m ha. India has 22.9% of the global area under sorghum.
Source: USDA
The global production of sorghum in the year 2006-07 was 56.46 m tonnes, out of which 13.8% of the sorghum was produced in India. USA, India, Nigeria, China, Mexico, Sudan and Argentina are the major producers.
Sorghum is both a grain and a forage crop. But nowadays, its cultivation for forage
purpose is increasing. Sorghum is mainly grown in the rainy season and the post-rainy
season. It can also grow well in rainfed dryland areas.
Despite decrease in sorghum area over the years, the production level during 2003 was almost similar to that in the early 1970's in India, which could be largely attributed to adoption of improved varieties and hybrids.
In India, the area under high-yielding cultivars has increased from 0.7 m ha in the early 1970's to 6.5 m ha in the late 1990s. Most of the area under high-yielding cultivars is planted with about 70 private sector (PS) hybrids, of which over 50 are based on ICRISAT-bred parental lines or their derivatives.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Cultivation of sorghum is mainly concentrated in peninsular and central India.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh (the Bundelkhand region) and Tamil Nadu are the major sorghum-growing
states. Other states grow sorghum in small areas primarily for fodder.
Currently there are five major types of sorghum grown:
1. Grain sorghum with dwarf varieties that grow 2 to 5 ft tall for easier combining. 2. Forage sorghum which grows 6 to 12 ft tall, produces more dry matter tonnage
than grain sorghum, is coarse stemmed and is used for silage. 3. Sudangrass, is fine stemmed, short season sorghum grown to furnish pasture or
green feed during mid-summer when perennial grasses are dormant. 4. Sorghum-sudangrass hybrid is a cross between the two forage types that have
intermediate yield potential and can be used for pasture, hay or silage. 5. Sorghum-almum, also called Columbusgrass, sorghumgrass, sorgo negro or
sudan negro.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF SORGHUM IN DIFFERENT STATES IN 2004-05
SRR (%)
State Variety Hybrid
Andhra Pradesh 20
Gujarat 288
Madhya Pradesh 10.23
Maharashtra 14.0
Karnataka 91.58
Punjab
Rajasthan 6.94
Tamil Nadu 8.83
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Uttar Pradesh 8.28
Haryana 30.45
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
Source: Seed Association of India
The Seed Association of India has projected that in the year 2020, the F1 hybrids will
cover 60% area of the total sorghum area, and the SRR will increase to 100%. It has also
projected that certified seed production will increase to 137 thousand tones.
The Seed Multiplication Rate is 1:160.
SALE PRICE OF BREEDER SEED OF HYBRID SORGHUM
(Rs. per quintal)
Variety/Hybrid/Line 2006-07
A Line 9000
B Line 7500
R Line 6000
Varieties & Composites 3800
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
OIL SEEDS
SUNFLOWER
Sunflower is an important oilseed crop grown in India. It covered an area of 2.34 m ha
in 2005-06.
0.000.200.400.600.801.001.201.401.60
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
Production
(m tonnes)
Area(m ha)
Year
AREA AND PRODUCTION OF SUNFLOWER IN INDIA
Area Production
Source: Deptt. Of Agriculture and Cooperation
Among all the sunflower growing states, Karnataka has the maximum area of 1.43 mha
under sunflower, contributing to 61% of total area under sunflower in India. It is
followed by Andhra Pradesh (19%), Maharashtra (15%), Bihar (1%), Haryana (1%) and
Tamil Nadu (1%).
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Source: Deptt. Of Agriculture and Cooperation
Source: Deptt. Of Agriculture and Cooperation
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Karnataka produces 0.79 million tones which contributes 55% to the total production of
sunflower in India. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh(21%) and Maharashtra(15%).
Source: Seed Association of India
The distribution of certified seed of sunflower is increasing every year after 1998-99.
The Seed Association of India has projected that in the year 2020, the F1 hybrids will
cover 90% area of the total sunflower area in India, and the SRR will increase to 100%.
It has also projected that certified seed production will increase to 19.8 thousand tones.
The Seed Multiplication Rate is 1:50
UNIFORM SALE PRICE OF BREEDER SEED
(Rate Rs. per quintal)
Variety/Hybrid/Line 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
A Line 20000 20000 20000 20000
B Line 10000 10000 10000 10000
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
R Line 10000 10000 10000 10000
Varieties 6000 6000 6000 6000
Source: www.seednet.gov.in
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF SUNFLOWER IN DIFFERENT STATES IN
2004-05
Seed Replacement Ratio in 2004-05
State Variety Hybrid
Andhra Pradesh 0 100%
Madhya Pradesh 3.3%
Karnataka 23% 100%
Maharashtra 29%
Uttar Pradesh 14.13%
Tamil Nadu 14.1%
Orissa 30.8%
Chattisgarh 35%
India 15.69%
Source: www.seednet.gov in
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
SOYBEAN
Soybean is an important oilseed crop of India covering 7.7 m ha area and producing 7.3
million metric tones. The area under soybean in India contributes 8.2% to global area
under soybean and production is 3.18% of global soybean production in 2006-07. The
contribution of soybean produced in India is continuously increasing in the global
soybean production. (Source: USDA)
Source: Department Of Agriculture and Cooperation
Source: Department Of Agriculture and Cooperation
AREA UNDER SOYBEAN IN DIFFERENT STATES IN 2005-06
55% 30%
10% 2% 1% 2% Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Rajasthan
Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka
Others
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Source: Department Of Agriculture and Cooperation
UNIFORM SALE PRICE OF BREEDER SEED
(Rate Rs. per quintal)
Crop 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
Soybean 4000 4000 4500 4500
Source: www.seednet.in
The multiplication rate for soybean is 1:16.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF SOYBEAN IN DIFFERENT STATES IN
2004-05
State SRR (%)
Andhra Pradesh 91%
Madhya Pradesh 15.68%
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Karnataka 26.5%
Maharashtra 44%
Rajasthan 7.02%
Uttar Pradesh 31.68%
Himachal Pradesh 23%
Chattisgarh 22.55%
Uttaranchal 11.64%
Source: www.seednet.gov in
The Seed Association of India has projected that the SRR of soybean will reach 80% in
2020.
DISTRIBUTION OF CERTIFIED SEEDS OF SOYBEAN
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
91-92 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05
Year
Quantity of certified seed
('000 tonnes)
Source: Seed Association of India
The Seed Association of India has also projected that the production of certified seed of
soybean will increase up to 283.4 thousand tones.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
VEGETABLE SEEDS
India, today is the second largest producer of vegetables (90.8 Million tonnes) in the
world, contributing 14.45% to the total vegetables produced in the world.
The vegetable seed production should be sufficient in India as vegetables(fresh and
processed) form an essential part of export. The value of fresh vegetables export
between April’2006 and December’2006 was Rs 108959.98 lakhs and that of processed
vegetables was Rs. 47137.60 lakhs.
The vegetable seeds also constitute a major value in export. The vegetable seeds and
fruits seed export between April’2006 to December’2006 was 4713020 kgs which valued
Rs 7644.19 lakhs (Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics).
Source: Seed Association of India
The area under vegetables is increasing continuously in India. Along with the increase
in area, the vegetable seed market is also increasing.
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PRODUCTION OF VEGETABLES IN INDIA
60.00
65.00
70.00
75.00
80.00
85.00
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Year
Production
(million tonnes)
Source: FAO
Source: Seed Association of India
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In the year 2004-05, Chilli covered the highest area among all the vegetable crops.
It covered 1.16 mha which is 16.14% of the total area of 7.19 mha under vegetables.
Source: Seed Association of India
Source: Seed Association of India
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
India has emerged as a world leader in vegetable production. The estimated area under
vegetables is about 7.19 mha. The country has excelled both in productivity and quality,
as a large number of new varieties and hybrids have been developed for different
agroclimatic regions. The private sector had also invested a lot on development of
hybrids and varieties of vegetables after the liberalization of seed import in 1988. The
returns from vegetables are high as compared to the cereal crops.
The adoption rate of vegetables is very high. Even in some vegetable crops, the seed
replacement ratio has reached 100%.
Due to higher productivity, responsiveness to inputs, better returns per unit area, etc,
the vegetable hybrids have been adopted by farmers of India at a large scale. The
vegetable seed market is growing at a high pace in India.
Hybrid Seed Production of Vegetables:
Hybrid seed production of vegetables is highly cost intensive. The vegetable seed
industry is dominated by private sector. The private sector has developed a large
number of hybrids of vegetables compared to public sector.
DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRIDS
CROP Public sector Private sector Imported
Tomato 3 160 90
Brinjal 8 218 12
Chilli 2 73 48
Capsicum 1 31 9
Cauliflower 1 35 45
Cabbage - 20 95
Radish - 5 10
Onion 1 6 6
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Okra 2 32 5
Muskmelon 2 14 4
W.Melon 2 25 15
Cucumber 2 10 10
Gourds 6 80 15
Total 29 709 364
Source: Seed Association of India
ESTIMATED SHARE OF VEGETABLE HYBRIDS
Share of F1seeds (%)
CROP 97-98 2001-02
Tomato 28.0 60.0
Brinjal 17.8 22.0
Chilli 3.0 10.0
Capsicum 5.0 15.0
Cauliflower 4.0 15.0
Cabbage 32.0 50.0
Radish 3.0 10.0
Onion nil Nil
Okra 6.0 25.0
Muskmelon 5.0 30.0
Watermelon 6.0 40.0
Cucumber 3.0 35.0
Gourds 2.0 25.0
Source: Seed Association of India
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO OF VEGETABLES IN 2001-02
Crop Seed Replacement Ratio (%)
Beetroot 100.0
Bittergourd 75.0
Bottlegourd 75.0
Brinjal 63.4
Cabbage 100.0
Capsicum 90.0
Carrot 80.0
Cauliflower 86.4
Chilli 83.7
Cluster beans 65.0
Coriander 80.0
Cucumber 90.0
Dolichos bean 80.0
Frenchbeans 62.0
Knolkhol 80.0
Muskmelon 90.0
Okra 92.0
Onion 87.0
Peas 93.0
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Pumpkin 70.0
Radish 60.0
Ridgegourd 70.0
Spongegourd 70.0
Tomato 99.0
Watermelon 90.0
Others 15.0
Source: Seed Association of India
VEGETABLE SEED MARKET IN 2001-02
0.0
1000.0
2000.0
3000.0
4000.0
5000.0
6000.0
7000.0
8000.0
9000.0
10000.0
Beetroot
Bittergourd
Bottlegourd
Brinjal
Cabbage
CapsicumCarrot
Cauliflower
Chilli
Clusterbeans
Coriander
Cucumber
Dolichos bean
Frenchbeans
Knolkhol
MuskmelonOkra
OnionPeas
Pumpkin
Radish
Ridgegourd
Spongegourd
Tomato
Watermelon
Year
Seed Market(tonnes)
0.0
200.0
400.0
600.0
800.0
1000.0
1200.0
Seed Market (Rs. million)
Seed market(tonnes) Seed market(Rs. Million)
Source: Seed Association of India
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Role of National Seeds Corporation (NSC) in Vegetable Seed Production:
NSC handles a wide range of vegetable seeds covering 37 vegetable crops and 172
varieties including 41 hybrids, suitable for diverse agro- climates in various parts of the
country.
Its seed production is organized under strict technical supervision through experienced
and well trained contract seed growers in identified locations in the country.
Vegetables seed varieties and hybrids produced/ marketed by NSC:
Crop Number of varieties Hybrids
Amaranthus 3 -
Spinach 2 -
Lady’s Finger 5 2
Brinjal 6 7
Capsicum 1 3
Chillies 5 11
Tomato 8 8
Corriander 3 1
Turnip 1 -
Beetroot 1 1
Snakegourd 2 -
Bittergourd 9 2
Ridgegourd 2 1
Muskmelon 2 2
Chicory 1 -
Cucumber 2 1
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Cowpea 3 -
Methi 2 -
Sugarbeet 1 -
Dolichos 2 -
Potato 4 1
Frenchbean 2 -
Peas 5 -
Cauliflower 5 2
Cabbage 2 3
Knolkhol 1 -
Radish 9 1
Carrot 3 1
Onion 3 2
Bottlegourd 3 3
Spongegourd 1 1
Ashgourd 2 2
Watermelon 3 4
Pumpkin 3 1
Garlic 2 -
Tinda 2 1
Lottuce 1 -
Clusterbean 2 1
Source: National Seeds Corporation
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Source: National Seeds Corporation
The seeds produced by NSC increased in 2002-03, but after that it started decreasing for
some years, and then again increased in 2005-06.
Source: USDA
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
FIBRE CROP SEEDS
COTTON
Cotton is the main fibre crop grown in 9.2 m ha area in India, which is about 1/4th of the
global cotton area and the largest area among all the countries. It is cultivated in about
10 states, largest area being in Maharashtra.
STATES UNDER COTTON CULTIVATION IN INDIA
The area under cotton is increasing continuously in India. With the increasing cotton
area, the production is also increasing. This increase is due to the introduction of
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genetically modified cotton varieties which were introduced in India in the year 2002.
At present, India has become the third largest producer of cotton.
AREA UNDER COTTON IN INDIA
Source: Cotton Corporation of India
COTTON SEED PRODUCTION IN DIFFERENT STATES
Cotton seed production (‘000tonnes)
State 2002-03 2003-04
Andhra Pradesh 660 858
Gujarat 1007 1518
Haryana 281 363
Madhya Pradesh 594 528
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Maharashtra 792 1023
Karnataka 198 132
Punjab 264 347
Rajasthan 149 248
Tamil Nadu 132 116
Source: www.indiastat.gov.in
With the introduction of various hybrids and genetically modified cotton varieties,
cotton has become the crop with highest seed replacement ratio.
SEED REPLACEMENT RATIO IN DIFFERENT STATES
State SRR (%) in
2004-05
Andhra Pradesh 99
Haryana 75
Karnataka 83
Maharashtra 93
Punjab 55
Rajasthan 65
Tamil Nadu 100
Source: Indian Statistical Institute
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Earlier the cotton production was mainly restricted to the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka in the south, and the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra
in the west, but with the introduction of Bt cotton, the northern states of Punjab and
Haryana have also entered into cotton production. Before 2002, we had to go for import
of large quantity of cotton seed for meeting the requirements of the farmers of Southern
India but after Bt revolution, the situation is totally different. Many private seed
companies have entered into cotton seed production, and thus the need for import of
cotton seed has got reduced to almost negligible. About 5 million tonnes of cotton seed
was produced in India in the year 2005-06.
Many multinationals have entered India with the focus on cotton seed production.
The cotton seed market is dominated by the Private sector.
Every year a large number of varieties and hybrids are being produced by different
seed companies.
Source: Indian Statistical Institute,
Computed by Francis Kanoi Marketing Research (2005)
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
PROFILE OF SEED COMPANIES
Company R&D Turnover Marketing Crop Seed Segments
dealt by company
Ankur Seeds
Pvt. Ltd.
Rs. 313
lakhs
11 regional
offices and 6
area offices
apart from the
headoffice at
Nagpur
Cotton, Sunflower,
Safflower, Rice, Forage
sorghum, Maize, Bajra,
Chilli, Brinjal, Okra,
Tomato, Onion
Nuziveedu
Seeds
1395
distributors &
dealers and
over 20000 sub-
dealers
Cotton, Sorghum,
Sunflower, Rice, Maize,
Pearl millet, Tomato,
Brinjal, Okra, Chilli
Nath Seeds Rs. 80 crore Cotton, Rice, Millet,
Maize, Oilseeds
J K
Agrigenetics
Rs. 276
lakhs
Rs. 57 crore in
2006-07(April-
September)
9 regional
offices and more
than 250
wholesellers
and 20,000 retail
dealers across
the country
Cotton, Sunflower,
Maize, Rice, Sorghum,
Bajra, Castor, Mustard,
Wheat, Red gram,
Soybean, Tomato, Okra,
Chilli, Bottlegourd,
Watermelon, Radish,
Cabbage, Sweetcorn,
Cucumber, Coriander
Sungro Seeds
Ltd.
Rs. 33 crore Cauliflower, Radish,
Carrot, Cabbage,
Tomato, Egg plant,
Chilli, Ridge gourd,
Sponge gourd, Bitter
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
gourd, Bottle gourd,
Karki, Cucumber,
Watermelon,
Muskmelon, Okra,
Pumpkin
Mahyco Paddy,Maize,
Sunflower, Pearl millet,
Cotton
ANKUR SEEDS PRIVATE LIMITED
Ankur Seeds Private Limited was established in 1976 at Nagpur, Maharashtra with the
objective of producing high yielding hybrids and varieties for suiting the needs of
farmers. Now, from 2004, its vision is benefit of mankind through biotechnology.
Research and development: It launched its research and development activities in 1978,
and was recognized by DSIR, Government of India in 1993. The company has various
regional research stations for multi location trials of advanced generation material.
Ankur has ventured into the field of transgenic research which includes incorporation
of insect tolerance in cotton by using Cry I Ac and Cry X gene. The future projects
include incorporation of drought tolerance traits, improvising the quality of vegetable
crops like delayed ripening of the tomato. The R&D expenditure of Ankur Seeds Private
Limited was Rs. 313 lakhs (Source: DSIR Annual Report 2005-2006).
Marketing: Ankur has 11 regional offices and 6 area offices apart from the headoffice at
Nagpur. It has a network covering 12 major states of India. The company periodically
organizes field day programs and demonstrations in various parts of the country to
educate the farmers about the latest agricultural practices. This activity is skillfully
handled by the marketing department and a dealer/distributor network. The
company's policies are distributor and farmer friendly.
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The members of the marketing team are in close contact with the farmers from the point
of sale of seeds to the time the produce is ready. The marketing staff together with the
distributors and dealers provide valuable information to the farmer for helping them in
optimizing the output.
Production: It started with the initial production of 150 quintals. It received an
overwhelming response from the farmers of Vidarbha for its public bred varieties of
cotton, jowar and okra, so the company expanded its production activities to Andhra
pradesh, Gujarat and other parts of Maharashtra. With an ever increasing demand for
its quality seeds Ankur started production in its own processing units in the year 1983
at Tirupati and Kisanagar. Today the company boasts of over 115 hybrids in various
crops.
Processing: The company has eleven state of the art processing plants with a
production capacity of over 16000 tons, a dehumidified storage capacity of 5000 sq m
for medium term storage and 10,000 sq m warehouses. The plants provide facilities for
drying, precleaning, ginning, delinting, gravity separation and fungicidal treatments.
Ankur’ s Crop varieties in Market:
Name of Crop Hybrids
Cotton Ankur-151, Ankur-09, Ankur-2534, Ankur-2226, Ankur-1262,
Ankur Akka, Ankur-Geeta (5090), Ankur-Sita, Ankur-655, Ankur-
4100, Swadeshi-1
Sunflower Konark-1, Konark-2, Konark-7, Konark-9, Konark-11
Safflower Vasant, Kesar, Garima
Rice Ankur-Sonam, Ankur-Rupali, Ankur-Manisha,
Sorghum-Forage Heera, Ankur-2025, White Kohinoor,
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Maize Aditya, Bhaskar(F-1), Bhanu(F-1), Mitra
Bajra 909(F-1), 2226(F-1)
Chilli Arch-226(F-1), Arch-228(F-1), Arch-9(F-1), Arch-313(F-1)
Brinjal Ajay(F-1), Kuldeep(F-1), Kaustabh (F-1) , Utkarsha (F-1) ,
Sachin(F-1), Kirti(F-1)
Okra Aroh-9(F-1), Aroh-10(F-1), Aroh-113(F-1), Aroh-96(F-1), Aroh-
85(F-1)
Tomato Ankur-308, Ankur-128(F-1), Ankur-501, Ankur-50(F-1), Ankur-
210(F-1)
Onion Ankur White
Achievements:
The company achieved its major breakthrough in cotton seeds in the year 1993 when
Ankur 651 cotton hybrid was declared a notified hybrid in the All India coordinated
cotton improvement project. It became an instant hit with the farmer community
because of its suitability to dryland farming , early flowering and adaptability to
excessive as well scanty rainfall. The company achieved a record 12500 quintals of
production in the year 2001-02 of cotton seeds. Ankur's long staple cotton hybrid Akka
has given the best results in India with a staple length of over 32 mm. In the year 1996,
Ankur Seeds Private Limited received the national award for research. It has about 15-
18% share in Indian cotton seed market.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
J K AGRIGENETICS LIMITED
J K Agrigenetics Limited was established in 1989. It is engaged in the research and
development, production, processing and marketing of hybrid seeds of Sorghum, Pearl
Millet, Maize, Cotton, Rice, Sunflower, Tomato, Okra and Hot Pepper.
It had a turnover of Rs. 57 crore in 2006-07(April-September)
Research and development: The breeding programmes in various crops focus on yield
improvement, as well as on breeding for quality traits, biotic/abiotic stresses. The
products are tested extensively across the nation in 19 multi locational trial centers,
regional testing centers and farmers fields under varied agro climatic conditions and
farming situations.
The expenditure on R&D was Rs. 276 lakhs (Source: DSIR Annual Report 2005-2006)
J K Agrigenetics Limited has a a 'Participatory Plant Breeding Process' in which the
customers and channel members interact with its breeders and help in the setting up the
breeding objectives and selection of the hybrids best suited to their environment on
parameters like performance, quality of produce, pest tolerance, end uses etc.
JKAL has invested extensively in biotechnology programmes. It has research collaboration with several national and international research institutions and agricultural universities to harness biotechnology for crop improvement.
It has developed a range of superior hybrids with Bt gene and other novel genes that will fulfill farmer's aspirations. It has a Biotech lab of international standards which was set up in 1999 at Hyderabad.
Future Projects: JKAL is planning to diversify into research on medicinal and aromatic plants with core activities including cultivation, contract farming, varietal development, quality extract production and chemical & DNA finger printing.
Production: JKAL takes up the production of hybrid seeds in an area of 10000 ha, to meet the requirements of our Indian customers. It has established a network of seasonal
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seed producers who are supervised and guided by its production team to produce true to type high quality seeds.
The seed processing plants are located at Hyderabad and have an installed processing capacity of 100 tonnes per day.
Marketing: The marketing of hybrid seeds is done through a network of 9 regional
offices and more than 250 wholesellers and 20,000 retail dealers across the country.
Its marketing professionals regularly interact with the farmers and provide on the spot
solutions. They conduct farmer meetings, field demonstrations, audio visual
presentations, and mobile campaigns, send regular mailers educating them on proper
package of practices.
Regular market research & customer satisfaction audits are conducted at various stages
to align the company strategies with customer expectations.
Services provided to the farmers:
J K KISAN SAMRUDHI SEVA:
The farmers are guided on various practices like integrated Pest Management and
Integrated Nutrition Management which help them gain the most out of each seed.
JKAL also interacts with the end users and educates them about the advantages of its
various hybrids there by creating a ready market for the farmers produce.
FARMER BOOKING SCHEME:
The farmers can book the required quantity of JK hybrid seeds well ahead of the season
so that they get the right quality seeds at the right time at a concessional price.
J K’ s Crop seed varieties in Market:
Name of
Crop
Hybrids/Varieties
Cotton JK DURGA, JKCH 99, JK INDRA, JKCH 226, JK GOWRI, JK ESHWAR,
JK VARUN, JK CH66, JK CHAMUNDI, JK AMBIKA
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Sunflower JK CHITRA, JK SURYA
Maize JK SURABHI, JKMH 1001, JK POOJA
Rice RH 10, JKRH 401
Sorghum JKSH 234, JKSH 22, JK JYOTHI, JK SAMPURNA, JKSH 55, JKSH 438,
JKSH 528, JKSH 538, JK 30R
Bajra
JKBH 26, JKBH 125, JKBH 598, JK UDAY, JKBH 19, JKBH 640, JKBH 576,
JKBH 247, JKBH 592, JKBH 661, JKBH 664, JKBH 550
Castor JK SARDAR, JK SAMRAT, JK KIRAN
Mustard JKMS 2, JK SURAJ, JK KIRTI
Wheat JK VAIBHAV, JK VIJAY, JK ADITYA, JKWH 15
Red Gram JK CHAMPION, JK SANIA, JK SWEETY, JK SIXER
Soybean JK KRANTI, JK MOTI
Tomato JK VARSHA, JK ASHA, JK DESI
Okra JK HARITHA, JKOH 045, JKOH 3017
Chilli JK ChH 27, JK HPH 207, JK HPH 208, JK HPH 555
Bottlegourd JK UTTARA
Watermelon JK LEKHA, JK VIMAL
Radish JK SHWETA
Cabbage JK GREENWONDER, JK OXFORD
Sweet Corn JK MADHU, JK ATIMADHUR
Cucumber JK MANALI, JK SNEHA
Coriander JK ANAND
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MAHYCO
Mahyco was established in 1964. Since then, it is engaged in plant genetic research and
production of quality hybrid seeds for the farming community of India. Mahyco is also
developing genetically enhanced crops with the use of gene transfer technology.
Mahyco has a national presence with its network across the country. It is the first
private enterprise in India to produce and market hybrids of Cotton, Sorghum, Pearl
Millet, Sunflower and Wheat. Mahyco is the first Indian company to commercially grow
and market transgenic Bollgard cotton- India's first transgenic crop in 2002. It has a
large seed production base, processing facilities and large distribution network.
Research and development: Research and Development activities are organized as
programmes targeted toward specific crops and/or technologies, with the overall goal
to develop improved hybrid seeds. The company emphasized on research since 1966
and is focused towards product development. Its main research unit is “The Mahyco
Life Sciences Research Centre (MLSRC)”, at Dawalwadi near Jalna which has labs for
seed health, molecular biology, cytogenetics, pathology, entomology, molecular
virology and plant transformation.
Crop seed varieties and hybrids in market: Mahyco is engaged in the research,
production, processing and marketing of approximately 115 products in 30 crop species
including cereals, oilseeds, fibre and vegetables.
Crop Variety /Hybrid
Hybrid Paddy
SURUCHI 5170, SURUCHI 5319, SURUCHI 5629, SURUCHI
5445, WHITE JEWEL –1, WHITE JEWEL – 2, WHITE JEWEL–3,
WHITE JEWEL - 4
Hybrid Maize MRM – 3824, MRM – 3765, MRM – 3827, MRM – 3816,
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EMPEROR – 1, EMPEROR – 2, EMPEROR – 3, EMPEROR – 4
Hybrid Sunflower MSFH-17, MSFH-8, MSFH-1754, SUNRISE-1, SUNRISE-2,
SUNRISE-3
Hybrid Pearl Millet MBH–163, MBH–183, MRB–204, MRB–2210, MRB-2828, Moti–
1, Moti – 2, Moti – 3, Moti – 4, Moti - 5
Bollgard Cotton
Intra-specific
Hybrids (Gossypium
hirsutum)
MECH-12 Bt, MECH-162 Bt, MECH-184 Bt, MRC-6301 Bt,
MRC-6304 Bt, MRC-6322 Bt
Interspecific Hybrid
(Gossypium hirsutum x
Gossypium barbadense)
MRC-6918 Bt
Indian Cotton
Gossypium arboreum
MRDC-222/Chamatkar-222, MRDC-223/Chamatkar-23, Magic
AAC-2, Magic AAC-1
New World Cotton
Intra-specific
Hybrids (Gossypium
hirsutum)
Bounty-5, Bounty-4, Bounty-6, Bounty-1, Bounty-7, Bounty-8,
Balraj-65, Tapaswi-6703, MECH-118
Interspecific Hybrid (Gossypium hirsutum x Gossypium barbadense)
White Silk-2
Soybean MRSB 342, Soya Power-1
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MAHYCO MONSANTO BIOTECH LIMITED
Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Limited was established in the year 1998 for the marketing of Bt technology in India. It is a 50:50 joint- venture of Mahyco and Monsanto Holdings Pvt Ltd (MHPL).
Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Ltd (MMB) is not a listed company. It was created to bring the benefits of Bollgard cotton technology of Monsanto to the farmers in India.
The first genetically modified crop was approved for commercialization in India by the GEAC in the year 2002. It was Bollgard cotton of Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Limited in the year 2002. It gave high revenue to Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Limited, as it was the only company to sell Bt cotton till 2003-04, and a large number of farmers in India adopted the technology.
In 2003-04 alone, its business on account of sales, royalty, and co-licensing was Rs 54
crore. The seeds sales accounted for Rs 36 crore.
Source: Industry Sources
In the year 2003, Rasi Seeds was given the approval for the commercial cultivation of its
Bollgard cotton variety RCH-2. It became available in the market in 2004-05.
In 2005-06, about 15 companies like J K Seeds, Nuziveedu Seeds, Ankur Seeds,
Krishidhan Seeds, Ajeet Seeds, Vikram Seeds, Tulsi Seeds, etc were allowed to release
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
their Bt cotton hybrids in the market. These companies sourced the Bt technology from
MMBL which led to increase in revenue of MMBL. Seed companies paid Monsanto
about Rs 1,200 per packet(450 gms) as royalty. Presently, MMBL has sub-licensed the
Bollgard technology to 23 Indian seed companies. All these companies are working to
introduce the Monsanto gene into their own germplasm.
But in 2006-07, there was a fall in the sales revenue of MMBL to Rs 150.30 crore over the previous year's sales (Rs. 391.25 crore). The reason for the fall in the revenue was mainly because of the government intervention in fixing the price for Bt cotton seeds during the 2006 kharif season and due to increased competition in the Bt cotton seed segment.
Because of the continuous success of the Bollgard cotton, GEAC approved the upgraded variant, Bollgard II of MMBL for commercialization in 2006.
Number of available commercial hybrids in 2006
Number of available commercial hybrids in 2005
Bollgard Bollgard II
21 48 7
The total area covered under these hybrids in 2006 was 87.7 lakh acres with marginal coverage under Bollgard II.
The sub licensing of the technology was started by MMBL in 1998, much before the actual launch of Bt cotton in 2002. By 2002, it had five key seed companies as its partners. In the subsequent two years, it added another 18 companies. By 2005, it had 23 seed companies as its partners. MMB supports its sub licensees/ partners with the know-how of the technology. And also ensures that the seed partner should provide the best quality product to the farmers so that it is successful in the market.
MMBL’s role in awareness about Bt technology: MMBL has about 60 people working in the field, all of them being technical people with graduation in agriculture for bringing awareness about the new technology and about the advantages of adopting it. During 2006, MMB alone contacted more than 6-8 lakh farmers. This reach was through various media like TV advertisements, print media and farmers meeting.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
With more awareness, advantages and availability, its officials say that in 2007 and 2008 further more hybrids are expected and there will be more availability of legal seeds in the market. This will put a lot of pressure on the sale of illegal seeds in the market.
RASI SEEDS LIMITED
Rasi Seeds Private Limited was initiated in the year 1973 in Attur of Salem district in Tamil Nadu. Rasi Seeds has made rapid advances from seed production and supply ventures to a commendable position in Research and Development (R&D). Its extra long staple superfine cotton variety SUVIN and the medium staple variety LRA 5166 are popular among farmers.
Excelling in the Research and Development in cotton seeds, it went on to expand into a multi-crop, multi-location quality research movement and has proved beneficial to the farming community. Over 10 million acres area is under its research cotton hybrids.
The company is well known for its cotton hybrids and Bt cotton hybrids. It is the 2nd company to obtain approval for Bt Cotton for its popular RCH 2 Bt.
Strategy: Rasi Seeds goes for corporate and contract farming, which benefits all- corporate/farmer, spinner, ginner and seed company.
Research and development: It has well-maintained Research Farm of 140 acres and,
55000 Sq.Ft. contained Green House, state of the art fibre testing lab, well equipped seed
testing laboratory, dehumidified cold storage facility for germplasm and breeding lines,
testing centres in various zones for multi-location trials to evaluate hybrids for
suitability, insect rearing and leaf bio assay facility for assisting biotechnological
research.
It has developed about 1150 hybrids of diverse characteristics.
R&D is capable of breeding intra Hirsutum (H X H), intra Barbadense (B x B) and inter
specific (H X B) hybrids and hybrids with high ginning percentage.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
On going projects in cotton: The breeding of cotton is being done for development of
cotton hybrids with desired characteristics:
1. To develop earliness in Cotton Hybrids. 2. To develop dwarf and compact lines. 3. To improve boll size and yield. 4. To create drought tolerant lines 5. To develop pest tolerant lines by Conventional Breeding and transgressing with
Bt Genes. 6. To evolve varieties having staple varying from 26 mm to 38 mm for different
purposes. 7. To develop high ginners. 8. To develop high fibre strength.
On going projects in maize: The breeding of maize is being done for development of
maize hybrids with desired characteristics:
1. Sourcing and evaluation of germplasm lines 2. Breeding for new lines with earliness, erect leaves, high per se and orange flint
and orange yellow semi dent grain colour 3. Development of new single cross, modified single cross and three way cross
hybrids for evaluation and identification of high yield hybrid combinations. 4. Maintenance breeding for parental purity
Bt cotton hybrids: The company entered into tie-up with Monsanto in 1999 for
commercializing hybrid cotton with Bollgard technology. It is the second company in
Indian seed industry to get approval for the commercial release of its Bt cotton hybrids-
RCH 2 Bt for Central and South Zone; and RCH 118 Bt, RCH 138 Bt, RCH 144 Bt, RCH
377 Bt for Central Zone, RCH 134 Bt and RCH 317 Bt, RCH 308 Bt and RCH 314 Bt for
North Zone and RCH 20 Bt & RCH 368 Bt, RCH 371 Bt, RCH 111 Bt and RCHB 708 Bt
for South Zone. Also many more hybrids are in pipeline.
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
NUZIVEEDU SEEDS LIMITED
Nuziveedu Seeds Limited was established in the year 1973. It has emerged as a leading
quality seed and Agri - biotech company over the years. It is having over 35% market
share in the proprietary hybrid cotton seed market in the country.
Nuziveedu Seeds Limited is working towards farmer’s development by developing and
maintaining the best quality hybrids, ensuring consistent and timely supply of seeds to
the market, maintaining harmonious relationship with growers, dealers, distributors
and suppliers.
Research and development: It has established well equipped R&D facility at Kompally.
The research farms are spread all over India in 500 Acres across different agroclimatic
zones.
Research farm Area(acres)
Hyderabad 150
Guntur and Nuziveedu 50
Nizamabad 130
Gurjala 114
Gurgaon 20
It has acquired Bt gene (Cry 1 Ac) and transferred into cotton hybrids. Its bollworm
resistant cotton hybrids Bunny and Mallika are popular among the farmers. The
technology has been sourced from Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Limited.
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At present, Nuziveedu Seeds Limited is working to develop its own indigenous transgenic for imparting resistance to Bollworms in collaboration with NBRI, Lucknow and a reputed Agri-biotech Company at its well established biotechnology laboratory. It is working towards sourcing and evaluation of germplasm, development of novel germplasm for specific traits, development of hybrids and varieties with focus on improvement for yield, quality and resistance to biotic stresses and development of transgenics, especially for traits that have limited chance of success through conventional breeding.
It is having research collaboration with many national and international institutions and state agricultural universities.
Production and Processing: NSL over the years has established processing plants with
an effective storage area of 2,50,000 sq. ft. at 6 locations. It has its own Delta flat screen
machines, gravity separators and seed treatment and polymer coating machines. It
possess 8 complete automatic packing lines with an output capacity of 30 packets/min.
It has delinting and cotton seed processing facility with a capacity of about 300 quintals
per day. It also has needle separator. It has large conditioned storage godown with
automatic loading and unloading facility at Kompally and Kottur with an installed
capacity of 18,000 MT for minimizing cost and increasing efficiency.
Nuziveedu Seeds Limited is planning to get ISTA accreditation to enhance its
competence in the vibrant seed industry in the context of current global scenario.
Before marketing, every seed lot is subjected to GOT test which are conducted at
company farms at Nuziveedu, Nizamabad, Guntur, Attur and Kallakal.
Marketing: NSL has strong marketing network comprising of 1395 distributors &
dealers and over 20000 sub-dealers spread across 12 states of the country for serving the
client base of 65 lakhs of farmers effectively.
NSL has set-up regional offices at Secunderabad, Delhi, Akola, Ahmedabad, Guntur,
Davangere assisted by C&F Agents at Indore, Trichy, Bhatinda, Hissar and Patna.
Achievements: Cotton hybrids NCS-145 'Bunny' and NCS-207 'Mallika' were rated
'Excellent' by Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR). Nuziveedu Seeds
Limited got the National Award for the year 2002 for best R&D Efforts in Industry by
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology in
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
recognition of the Company's efforts in the development of Cotton Hybrids, Bunny
(NCS-145) and Mallika (NCS-207).
It was 4th in rank among the seed companies according to revenue generated from Bt
cotton seed sales in the year 2005-06. The revenue generated by Nuziveedu Seeds
Limited from Bt cotton seed sales in the year 2005-6 was Rs. 62.52 crores. (Source: Ministry of Agriculture)
SUNGRO SEEDS LIMITED
Sungro Seeds Limited was established in 1973 in Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), but it
got shifted to Delhi in 1990’s. It is only engaged in vegetable seed production. It started
with 10 products in 1973, and now it has developed about 38 hybrids and 26 superior
open pollinated varieties of major high value vegetable crops. The company also
exports the seeds to foreign countries like USA, France, Japan, etc.
Ownership: It is closely held public limited company. It was acquired by Mahyco in
1996, but is operationally independent. It stands greatly benefited by the strong
technical backing with the latest technology, supported with modern facilities of
MAHYCO.
Research and Development: The company has research, trial grounds and production
centres in all the important agro-climatic zones of the country as per specific crops like
Kullu (H.P.) for cole crops, Delhi for tropical vegetables and Ranebennur (Karnataka)
for Solanaceous, cucurbits & okra etc. Its central processing and packing plant is at
Alipur.
HYBRIDS RELEASED BY SUNGRO
HYBRIDS CROP
RELEASED IN PIPELINE
Cauliflower 15 8
Radish 5 3
Carrot 2 4
Cabbage 6 4
Tomato 5 3
Eggplant 17 9
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Chilli 2 0
Ridgegourd 4 1
Spongegourd 3 0
Bittergourd 4 5
Bottlegourd 5 0
Karki 2 1
Cucumber 1 1
Okra 2 2
Watermelon - 1
Muskmelon - 1
Pumpkin 1 1
TOTAL 74 44
Crop seed varieties and hybrids in market:
Production: The company is producing about 12,000 quintals of seed of different crops
every year.
Turnover: The company has a turnover of about Rs. 33 crores. The seeds are sold across
all the states in the country. The highest revenue from seed sales is Rs. 6 crores from
Uttar Pradesh, followed by Rs. 5 crores in Bihar.
Strategies: The company is basically known for its open pollinated seed varieties. It
wants to concentrate on hybrid seeds as they are more profitable. It wants to change the
mindset of farmers about their company. It wants that people should know the
company as hybrid seed company.
Future projects: The company has got approval for producing Bt vegetable seeds. Large
scale trials on Bt vegetables, i.e. brinjal, cauliflower and cabbage for resistance against
lepidopteron insects are going on. The Bt vegetable seeds will be in the market in 2009.
NATH BIOGENE Ltd.
Major Areas of Operation: Pan India
Turnover: Rs. 80 crore
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Successful seed varieties/hybrids in market: (according to sales volume)
Crop Variety/Hybrid
Cotton Vishwanath, Nathbaba, Bharti
Hy. Paddy Lokanath-510, Ghoraknath-509
Hy. Pearl Millet NBH-05, NBH-07, Ekanath-301
Mustard Nathsona-212, Goldie
According to sales revenue:
Crop Variety/Hybrid
Cotton Vishwanath
Hy. Paddy Lokanath-510
Hy. Pearl Millet NBH-05
Mustard Nathsona
Hy. Maize NSMR-1133
Supply Chain:
Company Distributor Dealer Farmer
Margin given by the company:
Margin (%) from company to distributor: 5 to 8%
Credit period to distributor: 45 days
Margin (%) from distributor to dealer: 10 to 15%
Credit period to dealer: 30-45 days
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Company’s contribution in margin (%) from distributor to dealer: 10-15%
Promotional tools are used by the company:
1. Field demonstration
2. Advertisement through TV/radio/newspaper
3. Pamphlets, hoardings and other printed material
Regulations faced by the company:
1. State wise seed license in all the states
2. GEAC approval for Bt products
Crop Seed Varieties exported by the company:
Country Name of the crop Variety exported
Bangladesh Corn NSMR-1133
Egypt Corn NSMR-1133
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CASE STUDY: GM CROPS IN INDIA
GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS
Along with the other sectors, biotechnology has not kept the agriculture sector
untouched.
With the growing population, need for food is also increasing which has increased
pressure on the limited agricultural land. It has led to the wider adoption of genetically
modified or biotech crops because they highly productive, needs less amount of
pesticides, herbicides, etc thus increase the farm income.
The GM crops are the fastest adopted crop technology in the world, as it the only crop
technology showing 60 fold increase from the year of introduction till now.
The first GM crop grown was GM Tomato, in 1994, but it was in the year 1996, when
significant area was brought under GM crops. Since then, the area under GM crops is
increasing every year. In the year of introduction, the area was 1.66 mha which has
reached 102 mha in 2006. Such a fast rate of adoption of GM crops shows the
profitability from GM crops.
Source: Clive James, 2006
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India has registered the highest proportional increase in the area under GM crops in
2006 which is almost 3 times of the area in 2005.
Slovakia planted GM crops for the first time, thus increasing the number of GM crops
growing countries from 21 to 22 in 2006. It planted Bt maize.
Source: Clive James, 2006
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AREA UNDER GM/BIOTECH CROPS IN 2006
Rank Country Area (million hectares)
Biotech Crops grown
1 USA 54.6 Soybean, maize, cotton, canola, squash, papaya, alfalfa
2 Argentina 18.0 Soybean, maize, cotton
3 Brazil 11.5 Soybean, cotton
4 Canada 6.1 Canola, maize, soybean
5 India 3.8 Cotton
6 China 3.5 Cotton
7 Paraguay 2.0 Soybean 8 South Africa 1.4 Maize, soybean, cotton
9 Uruguay 0.4 Soybean, maize 10 Philippines 0.2 Maize
11 Australia 0.2 Cotton
12 Romania 0.1 Soybean
13 Mexico 0.1 Cotton, soybean
14 Spain 0.1 Maize
15 Colombia <0.1 Cotton
16 France <0.1 Maize
17 Iran <0.1 Rice
18 Honduras <0.1 Maize
19 Czech Republic
<0.1 Maize
20 Portugal <0.1 Maize
21 Germany <0.1 Maize
22 Slovakia <0.1 Maize Source: Industry sources
G M Soybean was the principal crop in 2006. It occupied 58.6 mha area followed by G M
Maize(25.2 mha), G M Cotton(13.4 mha) and G M Canola(4.8 mha).
A new biotech crop, herbicide tolerant alfalfa, was commercialized for the first time in
the US in 2006.
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Source: Industry sources
Herbicide tolerance has consistently been the dominant trait followed by insect
resistance and stacked genes for the two traits. In 2006, herbicide tolerance, occupied
68% or 69.9 million hectares of the global biotech 102 million hectares, 19.0 million
hectares (19%) planted to Bt crops and 13.1 million hectares (13%) to the stacked traits of
Bt and herbicide tolerance. The fastest growing trait between 2005 and 2006 was the
stacked product (30% growth) followed by insect resistance (17%) and herbicide
tolerance (10%).
The numbers of farmers growing GM crops has reached to 10.3 million in 2006
compared to the 8.5 million farmers in 2005. Of the 10.3 million, 90% (up significantly
from 7.7 million in 2005) were small, resource-poor farmers from developing countries.
Most of these small farmers were Bt cotton farmers. This shows that GM crops are
highly profitable because the GM crop seed varieties instead of being much costlier than
other varieties and hybrids, are being adopted on such a large scale and that too by the
small farmers.
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Country Number of small farmers
growing Bt cotton in 2006
China 6.8 million
India 2.3 million
Philippines 100,000
Others 100,000
Source: Industry sources
Biotech Crop Market: The entry of genetically modified seeds of crops in the seed
market has led to revolution in the Global seed industry.
Source: Phillips McDougall 2007
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The global market value of biotech crops reached $6.05 billion in 2006 which represents
20.16% of the $30 billion global commercial seed market.
Source: Phillips McDougall 2007
The market value of the global biotech crop market is based on the sale price of biotech
seed plus any technology fees that apply.
Currently the largest share of the biotech crop sector is attributable to herbicide tolerant
crop varieties that represented over 57% of the value of the sector in 2006.
In 2006, the value of the market for plant biotechnology-based products, comprising
sales of seed of herbicide tolerant (HT) and insect resistant (IR) crops, continued to
advance by 14.2% to $6,050 million.
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GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS IN INDIA
Bt cotton is the only genetically modified crop grown in India. The next biotech crop in
the pipeline for commercial release is expected to be Bt brinjal (eggplant) in 2007/08.
Other transgenic crops approved for limited field trials are cabbage, cauliflower, corn,
cotton, peanut, mustard, okra, pigeon pea, rice, and tomato, for traits such as nutritional
enhancement, pest resistance, and increased yields.
The area under Bt cotton is increasing every year. It was only due to the success of Bt
cotton that the share of bioagri in total biotechnology sector in India has reached 3.74%
in 2003-04. The share of revenue generated by bioagri in revenue generated by total
biotechnology sector is increasing every year from the year of introduction of Bt cotton
in India. In the year 2006-07, the revenue from bioagri has reached to Rs.8,541 crores
which is 10.84% of the revenue generated from total biotechnology sector. From the
total revenue generated from bioagri sector, about 95% was from domestic market.
Out of the revenue Rs.8,541 crores generated by Bioagri sector in 2006-07, the Bt cotton
seeds alone account for Rs. 835 crores.
Source: Biospectrum ABLE survey’ 2007
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Five Indian seed companies are now among the top 20 biotech companies in the
country, with Bt cotton seeds becoming a revenue generating seeds due to farmer
acceptance of the product.
History of Bt cotton in India:
1989: Rules were made under the Environment Protection Act 1986 to govern GMOs.
1995: Permission to import 100 grams of Bt Cotton Seed was given by DBT.
1998: Permission was given for country wide field trials in 80 hectares and also for
producing seed in 150 hectares.
1999: Supreme Court case on violations and lack of biosafety and Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka governments denied permission for field trials.
2000: Permission for large scale, multi-centric open field trials in 40 sites in 6 states was
given.
2001: One more year of field trials was ordered on 100 hectares, and Navbharat Bt
Cotton – spread of illegal/unapproved Bt Cotton was seen.
2002: Permission for 3 Mahyco-Monsanto varieties for commercial cultivation was
given.
2004: Permission for Rasi Seed’s RCH 2Bt was given for 6 states.
2005: Several new varieties were permitted for commercial cultivation – in all, 17
varieties.
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Regulation for GM crops:
The Government of India has adopted a policy for careful assessment of the benefits
and risks of GM crops at various stages of their development and field release to ensure
biosafety. The rules governing their handling were notified in 1989 under Environment
Protection Act 1986. Ministry of Environment and Forests and Department of
Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology are the two nodal agencies
responsible for the implementation of the regulations. The Government of India has
announced two new regulations which could adversely impact trade in agricultural
biotechnology products. The current legal troubles in India regarding the pricing of Bt
cottonseed could have serious implications for future technology transfer and foreign
direct investment in India’s biotechnology sector. Continuing its efforts to improve the
regulatory mechanism for bio-engineered crops, the Ministry of Environment and
Forests has decided to simplify the clearance system for biotechnology crops by
replacing the “case-by-case” approval process by an “event-based” approval
system(June’ 2006). It has decided to replace the long time consuming old system by a
new system:
Old system: A biotech hybrid or variety had to go for minimum of three years of
extensive trials in order to qualify for approval.
New system: Any seed with the cry 1Ac gene should require only one year of trials to
gain GEAC clearance, mainly to test the agronomic trait value of hybrids and to confirm
the presence of the gene.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) trials for Bt cotton (with the cry
1Ac gene and the Mon 531 event) have been made optional. The roles of state
agricultural universities (SAUs) and state agricultural departments have been enhanced
by making them responsible for the pre-release field monitoring of biotech crops. The
responsibilities have been transferred to the SAUs, because agriculture is considered to
be a state subject.
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FUNCTIONS OF INDIAN BIOTECH REGULATORY AUTHORITIES
COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS
Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
Training GM project personnel for safety.
Coordinate with district and state level
biotechnology committees.
Instituting health monitoring program for
lab personnel.
Carry out periodical medical checks on lab
personnel.
Review Committee on Genetic
Manipulation
(RCGM)
Review all ongoing GM research projects.
Undertake visits to trial sites to ensure
adequate security measures.
Issue clearance for import of raw materials
needed in GM research projects.
Scrutinize applications made to the GEAC
for import of bioengineered products.
Form Monitoring and Evaluation
Committee for bio-engineered crop
research projects.
Appoint sub-groups as and when required
in topics of interest to the committee.
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
(GEAC)
Approve activities involving large-scale
use of potential hazardous microbes and
recombinants in research and industrial
production from the point of view of
environmental safety.
Approve proposals relating to release of
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genetically engineered organisms and
products into the environment, including
field trials.
Take punitive actions on those found
violating the GM rules under EPA, 1986.
Consult RCGM on technical matters
relating to clearance of bioengineered
crops/ products.
Approve bioengineered foods for
commercial sales/distribution.
Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee
(RDAC)
Take note of developments in
biotechnology at national and
international level.
Prepare suitable guidelines for safety in
research and applications of GMOs.
Prepare other guidelines as may be
required by the GEAC.
State Biotechnology Coordination
committee (SBCC) (in states where biotech
research occurs)
Periodically review safety and control
measures in institutions involved in
handling biotech products.
Inspect and take punitive action through
the State Pollution Control Boards or the
Directorate of Health in case of violations.
Take on-site control measures.
District-Level Committee (DLC)
To monitor safety regulations in research
and production installations Investigate
compliance with rDNA guidelines and
report violations to SBCC or GEAC.
Source: Environmental Protection Act, 1989
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PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL OF BIOTECH CROPS IN INDIA
Source: Department of Biotechnology, GOI
India, which has about 9.2 mha area under cotton, ¼ th of global area under cotton and
largest among all the cotton growing countries, has 3.8 mha under G M cotton. India
ranks 5th in area under G M crops among all the countries growing G M crops. Until
2002; India was not growing transgenic crops. Bt cotton was introduced in the year
2002, when world’s largest seed company Monsanto entered Indian seed market and
got license to market the cotton seeds produced by Mahyco Seeds Company of India
incorporated with gene cry1Ac from Bacillus thruengenesis bacteria. Bt cotton was the
first transgenic crop to get commercialized in India. The approval was given first to
three hybrids of Mahyco seeds- MECH-12 Bt, MECH-162 Bt, MECH-184 Bt by the
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) – the apex nodal agency that accords
clearance for GM crops. This led to a great move in India as it controlled the bollworm
disease in cotton to great extent, which is the main reason behind the loss in cotton
Applicant
IBSC
RCGM MEC
GEAC ICAR
Seed Act/
Rules
Release for
Commercia
l
agriculture
To inform decision to
Ministry of Agriculture
and to inform applicants
to follow the relevant
Acts and Rules
IBSC Functions
To note, approve, recommend &
to seek approval of RCGM
RCGM Functions
To note, approve,
recommend generation
of appropriate biosafety
& agronomic data
MEC Functions
To visit trial sites, analyze data,
inspect facilities, and recommend
safe and agronomically viable
transgenics to RCGM/GEAC
GEAC Functions
To approve for large-scale
use, open release
in to the
environment
ICAR TRIALS
To generate complete agronomic
data and to recommend for
commercial release of GM crops.
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production in India. Farmers started the use of Bt seeds, as it also decreased their
expenditure on pesticides used for controlling Bollworm. The adoption was there on
such a large scale that not even the Indian companies came into this segment, but a
large number of multinationals also moved into the competition of getting license for
marketing Bt cotton seeds in India. Today a large number of private companies are
engaged in Bt cotton seeds production and marketing in India. Some are engaged in
developing their own germplasm and others like Rasi, JK Seeds have taken the
germplasm from Monsanto.
Area under GM crops in India:
AREA UNDER Bt COTTON IN INDIA
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Year
Are
a('0
00ha
)
Area('000 ha)
Source: Indian Statistical Institute
Area coverage under Bt cotton, the only commercially-released biotechnology crop in
the country, continues to grow every year. Before 2002, genetically modified crops were
not grown in India. After 2002, when Bt Cotton was commercialized in India, the area
under Bt cotton is increasing every year with highest increase of 192.3% in 2006 as
compared to the previous year 2005.
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% BREAKUP OF Bt COTTON AREA IN DIFFERENT STATES IN 2006
Source: Biospectrum Able Survey’ 2007
Apart from this, some other states also went for cotton cultivation in 2006 for the first
time covering an area of 5 million hectares.
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The number of small farmers growing Bt cotton hybrids in India has increased to 2.3
million in 2006 as compared to 1 million in 2005 and 300,000 in 2004. This sharp increase
in the number of small farmers growing Bt cotton shows that Bt cotton is highly
profitable.
FARM LEVEL INCOME IMPACT OF USING GM IR COTTON IN INDIA 2002-2005
Sources and notes:
1. Impact data based on Bennett et al (2004) and IMRB (2006)
2. All values for prices and costs denominated in Indian Rupees have been converted to US dollars at
the annual average exchange rate in each year.
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COST OF CULTIVATION OF BT COTTON IN MAHARASHTRA (Rs/ha)
Source: Industry sources
Bt Cotton Hybrids:
The approval for Bt Cotton hybrids is given by the Genetic Engineering Approval
Committee. In the year 2002, only 3 hybrids were commercialized, and in 2006, about 62
hybrids were there in the market.
In 2005, the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan started cultivation of Bt
cotton after the approval of six Bt cotton hybrids for these states for the first time.
Details 2002-03 2003-04 Overall
Bt hybrid Conventional Bt hybrid Conventional Bt hybrid Conventional
Land 1345 1345 1420 1420 1382.5 1382.5
Seeds 4476 1645 4325 1496 4400.5 1570.5
Manures 1482 1482 1565 1565 1523.5 1523.5
Gap filling 169 180 140 170 154.5 175.0
Weeding 1927 1730 1880 1740 1903.5 1735.0
Plant 1097 2394 1170 2410 1133.5 2402.0
Picking 2096 1686 2496 1926 2296 1806
Total cost 12592 10462 12996 10727 12794.0 10594.5
Yield (q/ha) 11.73 9.72 12.48 9.63 12.10 9.69
Price (Rs/q) 2078 2029 2250 2225 2127 2078
Gross return 24375 19722 28080 21427 26227.5 20148.2
Net return 11783 9260 15084 10700 13433.5 9620.0
Output/input
ratio
1.94 2.00 2.16 1.89 1.96 1.94
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Bt Cotton Hybrids approved till 2006:
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BollgardII:
Bollgard II contains the cry 2 Ab gene, in addition to cry 1 Ac. The Bollgard II event
developed by Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech Ltd, (MMBL) is technically designated as
MON 15985.
It was approved by GEAC for commercial release in May 2006. It has been developed
by several different seed companies, but only for the Central and Northern Zones.
Several other varieties suitable for all the three zones are expected to be approved for
this year’s cotton season.
Bollgard II (Bt cotton) has the advantage of controlling both Bollworm and the sucking
pest, Spodoptera.
Bt COTTON VARIETIES APPROVED FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION IN
THE VARIOUS ZONES DURING 2002
S.No. Name of
Hybrids
Name of
Company
Gene event
1 MECH 12 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
2 MECH 162 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
3 MECH 184 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
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Bt COTTON VARIETIES APPROVED FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION IN
THE VARIOUS ZONES DURING 2004
S.No. Name of
Hybrids
Name of
Company
Gene event
1 RCH 2 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
Bt COTTON VARIETIES APPROVED FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION IN
THE VARIOUS ZONES DURING 2005
S.No. Name of
Hybrids
Name of
Company
Gene event
1 NCS-207 Mallika Nuziveedu Seeds
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
2 NCS-145 Bunny Nuziveedu Seeds
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
3 RCH-144 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
4 RCH-118 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
5 RCH-138 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
6 RCH-20 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
7 RCH-368 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
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8 RCH-134 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
9 RCH-317 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
10 MRC-6322 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
11 MRC-6918 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
12 MRC-6301 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
13 MRC-6304 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
14 Ankur-651 Bt Ankur Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
15 Ankur-2534 Bt Ankur Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
16 Ankur-09 Bt Ankur Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
Bt COTTON VARIETIES APPROVED FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION IN
THE VARIOUS ZONES DURING 2006
S.No. Name of
Hybrids
Name of
Company
Gene event
1 MRC-6025 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
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2 MRC-6029 Bt Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
3 NCS-913 Bt Nuziveedu Seeds
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
4 NCS-138 Bt Nuziveedu Seeds
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
5 RCH-308 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
6 RCH-314 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
7 RCH-377 Bt Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
8 RCH-111 BG I Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
9 RCH-371 BG I Rasi Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
10 RCHB-708 BG I Mahyco cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
11 GK-205 Bt Ganga Kaveri
Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
12 GK-204 Bt Ganga Kaveri
Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
13 GK-209 Bt Ganga Kaveri
Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
14 GK-207 Bt Ganga Kaveri
Seeds Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
15 KDCHH 9810 Bt Krishidhan Seeds
Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
16 KDCHH 9362 Bt Krishidhan Seeds
Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
17 KDCHH 9821 Bt Krishidhan Seeds
Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
18 ACH-33-1 Bt Ajeet Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
19 ACH-155-1 Bt Ajeet Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
20 Tulasi 4 Bt Tulasi Seeds Pvt.
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
21 Tulasi 117 Bt Tulasi Seeds Pvt.
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
22 NPH 2171 Bt Prabhat Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
23 Brahma Bt Emergent Genetics cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
24 VICH 5 Bt Vikram Seeds Pvt.
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
25 VICH 9 Bt Vikram Seeds Pvt.
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
26 PRCH-102 Bt Pravardhan Seeds
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (MON 531
Event)
27 PCH-2270 Bt Prabhat Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac (Event 1)
28 VCH-111 Bt Vikki Agrotech
Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac (Event 1)
29 MRC 7301 BG II Mahyco cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
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30 MRC-7326 BG II Mahyco cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
31 MRC-7347 BG II Mahyco cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
32 MRC-7351 BG II Mahyco cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
33 MRC-7201 BG II Mahyco cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
34 KDCHH-441 BG
II
Krishidhan Seeds
Pvt. Ltd.
cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
35 ACH-11-2 BG II Ajeet Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ac & cry 2 Ab
(MON 15985 Event)
36 JKCH 1947 Bt J K Agrigenetics
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac gene (Event 1)
37 JK Varun Bt J K Agrigenetics
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac gene (Event 1)
38 JK Durga Bt J K Agrigenetics
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac gene (Event 1)
39 JKCH-99 Bt J K Agrigenetics
Ltd.
cry 1 Ac gene (Event 1)
40 NCEH-6R Nath Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ab+Cry 1 C
40 NCEH-2R Nath Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ab+Cry 1 C
40 NCEH-3R Nath Seeds Ltd. cry 1 Ab+Cry 1 C
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Bt COTTON VARIETIES APPROVED FOR COMMERCIAL CULTIVATION IN
THE VARIOUS ZONES DURING 2007
The GEAC has approved 53 new Bt cotton hybrids for commercial sale in India in 2007. The number of Bt cotton hybrids available to farmers has now increased to 115 in 2007. The approval of new hybrids were granted in the light of the Supreme Court recent order, which accorded approval for commercial release of Bt cotton hybrids expressing approved gene events MON 531 event, MON 15985, Event-1 and GFM event. These Bt cotton hybrids approved by GEAC include six of Vibha Agrotech Ltd; five each of Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd and Nandi Seeds Ltd; four of DSCL's Bioseed Research India Ltd; and three each of J.K. Agri-Genetics Ltd, Ankur Seeds and Prabhat Agri Biotech Ltd., two each of Mahyco Seeds Ltd, Proagro Seed Company, Rasi Seeds, Ajeet Seeds, Pravardhan Seeds and Kaveri Seed Company; and one each of Nath Seeds, Namdhari Seeds, Zuari Seeds, Vikram Seeds, Navkar Hybrid Seeds, Ganga Kaveri Seeds and Amar Biotech Ltd.
EVENT-WISE APPROVAL OF NEW BT COTTON HYBRIDS IN 2007
Bt cotton hybrid Events
North zone Central zone
Total
BG-I 13 23 36
BG-II 4 5 9
Event-I 1 3 4
GFM Event - 4 4
Total 18 35 53
Source: Compiled by ISAAA
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RANKING OF COMPANIES ACCORDING TO Bt COTTON SEED SALES
IN 2006-07
Rank in
2006-07
Company
Turnover(Rs. Crores)
in 2006-07
Turnover(Rs. Crores)
in 2005-06
1 Rasi Seeds 333.33 309.49
2 Nuziveedu Seeds 226.42 62.52
3 Mahyco 110.69 117.76
4 Ankur Seeds 69.5 -
5 Biotech International 26 -
6 Others 160.06 108.23
Total 926 598
Source: Biospectrum Able Survey’2007
The growth in BioAgri sector was 54.85% in 2006-07 as compared to 2005-06, with
highest growth recorded in Nuziveedu Seeds( 262.12%). Mahyco showed a negative
growth rate of -6% as compared to the previous year 2005-06.
Rasi Seeds, Nuziveedu Seeds and Mahyco have been the prime contributors to BioAgri
sector accounting for 72.34 percent share of the total BioAgri market in 2006.
Seed companies paid Monsanto Biotech about Rs 1,200 per packet as royalty to
Monsanto in 2005-06.
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Bt COTTON SALES(packets) IN DIFFERENT STATES
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
2003 2004 2005
YEAR
SA
LES
(pac
kets
)
Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
Karnataka
Tamil Nadu
Source: Indian Statistical Institute
The Bt cotton seed sales is increasing every year. The sales of Bt cotton seeds is seen
highest in Maharashtra state in the past 2 years of 2004 and 2005. In the year 2003, the
sales was highest in the state of Gujarat, but after this, it started decreasing due to the
spurious Bt cotton seed business in Gujarat. Earlier, the price of Bt cotton seeds was
about Rs.1200/450 gm more than non Bt cotton seeds, but after the set up of
competition in the Indian Bt cotton seed industry, the difference between the prices has
decreased.
Non Bt cotton seeds: Rs.400/450 gm
Because of Monsanto's tech fee, Bt cotton seed in India costs the farmer Rs 1,500-1,700
per 450 gm including manufacturer's costs and dealer margins. Initially, Monsanto's Bt
cottonseed fee in India was Rs 1,200 for every 450 gm packet. The fee was raised to Rs
1,250 the next year but was reduced to Rs 900 in 2006.
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EARNINGS OF SEED COMPANIES FROM THE Bt TECHNOLOGY FEES
Between 2002 and 2005, the seed companies had earned Rs. 1,400-crore by the way of royalty alone (technology fee). In 2006, the seed companies aimed to pocket Rs 4,000-crore as royalty from farmers cultivating Bt cotton in 3.5 million hectares.
In 2006, about 42% of the country's total cotton area was under GM cotton. At one packet per acre and an average Rs 900 per packet, the domestic transgenic cotton seed market is now well over Rs 800 crore. The GEAC approval to the 53 new hybrids may further intensify competition and expand the market to the advantage of farmers.
Between 2002 and 2006, the country's cotton output has shot up from 86.24 lakh bales to 210.37 lakh bales, coinciding with the introduction of transgenics.
SATISFACTION LEVEL OF FARMERS FROM PAST USAGE OF Bt COTTON IN 2005(Sample size:1331)
Source: Industry Sources
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ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON Bt COTTON
(under development and field trials)
Organization Transgene
Ankur Seeds, Nagpur cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Ajeet Seeds, Aurangabad cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Emergent Genetics, Hyderabad cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Ganga Kaveri Seeds, Hyderabad cry1Ac
J. K. Agrigenetics, Hyderabad cry1Ac
Krishidhan Seeds, Jalna cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Mahyco, Mumbai cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Metahelix, Bangalore cry1Ac
Nandhi Seeds, Hyderabad cry1Ac
Nath Seeds, Aurangabad GFM cry1Aa
Nuziveedu Seeds, Hyderabad cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Namdhari Seeds, Bangalore GFM cry1Aa
Pravardhan Seeds, Hyderabad cry1Ac
Prabhat Agri Biotech, Hyderabad cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Rasi Seeds, Attur cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
Safal Seeds, Jalna GFM cry1Aa
Syngenta India, Pune Vip-3a
Tulsi Seeds, Guntur cry1Ac; cry1Ac and cry2Ab
University of Agricultural Sciences, Cry1Ab
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Dharwad
Vibha Seeds, Hyderabad cry1Ac
Vikki Agrotech, Hyderabad cry1Ac
Vikram Seeds, Ahmedabad cry1Ac
Zuari Agrotech, Bangalore GFM cry1Aa
Source: Biospectrum Able Survey’2007
G M CROPS UNDER FIELD TRIAL IN INDIA DURING 2005
S. No. Crop Trait Organization
1 Brinjal
Insect resistance Indian Agriculture
Research Institute,
MAHYCO, Sungro
Seeds Ltd.
2 Cabbage Insect resistance Sungro Seeds Ltd
3 Cauliflower Insect resistance Sungro Seeds Ltd
4 Corn Insect resistance Monsanto (India),
Metahelix Life Sciences
5 Cotton Insect resistance University of
Agricultural Sciences
(UAS, Dharwad), Bio
seed India Pvt. Ltd.,
Emergent Genetics
India Pvt. Ltd; Green
Gold Seeds Ltd.,
Kaveri Seeds Co. Ltd;
Metahelix Life
Sciences; Namdhari
Seeds Pvt. Ltd;
Proagro Seeds Co. Ltd;
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Vibha Agrotech Ltd;
Vikram Seeds Ltd;
Zuari Seeds Ltd.,
Ankur Seeds, JK Agri
Genetics, Krishidhan
Seeds, MAHYCO,
Nath Seeds, Rasi Seeds
Ltd; Syngenta India;
Nuziveedu Seeds,
Mahendera Hybrid
Seeds,
Tulsi Seeds, Ganga
kaveri, Vikki’s
Agrotech, Pravardhan
Seeds, Prabhat Agri
Biotech; Ajeet Seeds
6 Groundnut Virus resistance ICRISAT
7 Mustard Cytoplasmic male
sterility
University of Delhi
South Campus (UDSC)
8 Okra Insect resistance MAHYCO
9 Pigeon Pea Resistance to fungal
pathogens
ICRISAT
10 Rice Resistance to pests;
bacterial blight,
fungal pathogens, salt
tolerance
IARI, MAHYCO,
Metahelix Life Sciences
11 Tomato Insect resistance, virus
resistance
IARI, MAHYCO
Source: Bio safety News Letter; 2005, Vol., 1(2)
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Illegal or Spurious Bt cotton seeds:
High demand for Bt cotton seeds has led to the emergence of a new seed industry of
illegal or unapproved Bt seeds. The farmers of India were so eager for using the Bt
cotton seeds that some of the companies even didn’t wait for receiving the biosafety
clearance and launched the seeds in the market. Thus illegal Bt cotton seed industry
was emerged in India. These illegal seeds of Bt cotton were in market before the first
approval of Bt cotton by GEAC. These seeds were discovered in Gujarat in 2001, one
year before the launching of Bt cotton seeds in the market. This seed is Navbharat 151
distributed by Navbharat seeds based in Ahmedabad. It is illegal because it has not
received biosafety clearance from the government. Earlier in 2001, it was restricted to
Gujarat, but now it has spread to other states also, like Andhra Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra.
According to Sainath 2005, about 90,000 packets of legal Bt cotton were sold in
Yavatmal district of Maharashtra against 2,50,000 packets of illegal Bt cotton.
The low cost production of cotton using illegal Bt cotton seeds in Gujarat attracted the farmers especially from the northern states to go for the use of illegal Bt cotton seeds for cultivation. Driven by the high margins and scarcity of quality hybrids last year, a large quantity of F2 seeds under the name of Bt cotton were smuggled from Gujarat. Others states including Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are also involved in supplying of
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
illegal seeds to other states. As per industry sources, in 2006, 75% of estimated 15 lakh Bt cotton seed packets sown in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan were brought from Gujarat and the remaining from other states. The price of this Bt cotton seed fluctuated between Rs 450-1,000 per packet (450 gm).
The illegal Bt cotton seeds industry is a threat to legal Bt cotton seed industry as there is
a big market for spurious and illegal Bt cotton seeds in these states due to their
relatively low price.
It is evident from the fact that Punjab, which has taken Bt cotton in major way, had more than 60% of cotton acreage covered by false or illegal Bt cotton in 2006. Also the spurious trade in 2006 that has led to adoption of fake BT cotton by the farmers on a large scale and has robbed the six authorized companies of Rs 150 crore business alone in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It reduced the gross sales of authorized companies in North India to 5.5 lakh packets whereas the market potential stood at over 16 lakh packets.
Selling of fake or spurious seed is a cognizable offence according to the Seed Act, 1966,,
even then the sales of illegal Bt cotton is increasing at a fast pace.
Spurious Bt Cotton Seeds available under different Brand Names
The illegal seed comes in plain cellophane packets of 450 gm in various brand names
and the only source of supply is a shadowy figure always described as a "reliable
dealer".
According to Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology, illegal Bt cotton
sold under 32 different names was sown in 2004 season. (Sharma, 2005).
It is generally called F1. There is also F2 and F3 and a lot many others that come in
bright wrappers with beguiling brand names.
Spurious Bt cotton seeds are available in large number of brand names:
• Rakshak
• Virat
• Captain F-1 Hybrid Cotton Seeds
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• Research Hybrid Cotton F-1 (Tilak)
• Trishul ( F1)
• Kavach F-1 Hybrid Kapas – 151
• Suraksha – Hybrid Cotton Seeds
• Research Hybrid Cotton F-1
• Krushi-357
• Bunny Bt
• Super Bunny
• H-8
• Om-3
• Azadi
• Anmol
• Best
• Maha Anmol
• Sudarshan
• Aiklav
• Bahadur
• Gold
• Maha Gujarat
• Sema
• Sartaj
• Kamander
• Balwan
• Mold
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• Om-1
• Om-2
• Om-3
• Rakshak
• Patidar-8
• Navbharat 55
• Navbharat 151
• Navbharat 11
• Parth
• Sarthi
• Paramarsh 10
• Surakksha
• Anand-41
• Jai Ratan
• Navratan
• Varsha
• A1-Homeguard
• Bullet-707
• Manmold
• Sona
Illegal Bt cotton seeds- a matter of concern for India
• The spread of illegal Bt cotton seeds can lead to the development of resistance in
bollworms because of the increasing use of seeds with limited potential to fight
with the pests.
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• The unregulated use of the illegal seeds is a matter of concern as the success of
the illegal Bt cotton could lead to the collapse of cotton farming in Gujarat, a state
that grows nearly one fifth of the cotton produced in India and records the
highest yields in the country.
• It can discourage genetic research by the companies as they are investing in R&D
to develop new strains of GM crops, even then the sales are going down because
of increasing illegal seed market.
• India may loose a powerful tool to enhance crop productivity if GM technology
is bought into dispute.
Reasons behind fast spread of illegal Bt cotton seeds
• Most of the farmers of India are marginal and small. Along with quality, price is
also a factor in choice of seed variety. Legal Bt cotton seeds are marked at much
higher proce compared to the illegal Bt seeds.
• The drought in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra resulted in poor performance
of Bollgard due to which there was a controversy which made a large section of
the farming community tilted towards the feeling that Bt technology by
Monsanto is not really worthwhile.
• The illegal Bt cotton of Navbharat Seeds has a shorter duration of 140-150 days
against the normal Bt cotton of duration 180-190 days and as it is said that illegal
Bt cotton of Navbharat Seeds does not require spraying. So farmers feel it
profitable as compared to the legal Bt cotton seeds available in the market.
• The other matter is quality. The hybrids that Mahyco chose for expression of the
Bt gene are generally considered poor performers as they were selected
according to the conditions when the research was started a long time back. But
now a large number of companies have come up with their promising hybrids.
• The illegal Bt cotton seeds sale is increasing at an alarming rate. The regulatory
system is unable to do anything for regulating the spread.
• There is lack of awareness among the farmers about the Bt technology.
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Changing trends in Indian Bt cotton seed industry
• Till 2006, all the Indian companies used to incorporate Bt technology from Monsanto of United States in their cotton hybrids and then used to market them. From the revenue earned, a major portion was going to Monsanto as the technology fee, but now in 2007, India has come to a stage when it has started using technology from its own sources. J K Agrigenetics has developed Bt cotton seed varieties (Event I with cry1Ac gene) indigenously jointly with IIT Kharagpur.
• Nath Seeds has tied up with a Chinese firm for licensing of Bt technology (GFM Event with cry1Ab and cry1Ac gene). As Bt technology is available in China at very less rate compared to that in India by Monsanto, the cost of the Bt cotton seeds from Nath Seeds will also be low.
• A large number of organizations and companies are entering the Indian Seed Market for licensing of technology to Indian companies. It will lead to increased competition and lowering of prices, which will prove favorable to the Indian farmers.
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ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY
Issues in the Indian Seed Industry
Consolidation in Indian Seed Industry: A large number of multinational companies are entering India by having tie-ups with Indian seed companies. This is helping in development of Indian seed industry by providing of new technology, R&D, etc, and by opening the door of trade in their countries for the Indian companies. But the most important issue is the retaining of identity of Indian seed companies. Indian companies should take the advantage of this but not allow them to become the king in Indian seed market by total acquisition of Indian seed companies.
Rise of Illegal Seed Industry: Illegal seeds can spoil the credibility of the product and technology. These can mislead the farmers. Also their low cost can led to increased market of these illegal seeds, which can affect the enthusiasm of technology developers; who always abide the laws.
Decreasing area under cereal crops: Due to the movement of farmers from cereal crops to other crops, the situation of food scarcity may occur. As large population in India is dependent on cereal crops for meeting their food requirement, the decreasing area can lead to rise of many problems. For this, the seed companies should go for development of highly productive hybrids; so that the farmers get high profits from the cereal crops and they don’t shift to other crops.
Challenges in Indian Seed Industry
Food security: Highly increasing population of India is a major concern for India. It can lead to food insecurity. It is the challenge for the Indian seed industry, which needs to addressed. To help India in preventing from reaching the situation of food insecurity in future, Indian seed industry should work towards development of highly productive seed varieties.
Helping the Indian farmers to compete in the globalized agricultural market environment.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
The SWOT analysis help in analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats of Indian Seed Industry.
Strength:
• Large number of seed companies in the Indian seed market producing a large number of hybrids/varieties to cater the needs of large farming population.
• Low cost of seed production in India. • Varied agro climatic regions providing factors for the production of different
crop seeds. • Large number of seed companies entering the market leading to good
competition and reduction in price of seeds.
Weakness:
• Weak infrastructure facilities of Indian seed companies. • Less brand awareness among the Indian farmers about new varieties/hybrids.
Peer pressure plays a major role in buying of seed variety/hybrid. • Regulatory mechanism takes large time in giving approval to hybrids/new
varieties.
Opportunities:
• Large farming population needing large amount of seeds making India a potential market for seeds.
• After the regulation on the entry of seed companies were made easy, large number of multinational companies are entering Indian seed industry, helping India to generate large revenues.
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• Consolidation in the Seed Industry has resulted in tie up of many Indian companies with the multinational companies. This will be of great help to Indian seed industry as the R&D, technological facilities etc of the multinational companies will be shared by the Indian companies. This will lead to production of improved varieties/hybrids.
• Public Private partnership is coming up which after proper utilization can benefit the Indian seed industry. The public sector has wide extension network which can be utilized by the private companies for their marketing and promotion.
• Export to nearby countries can be fruitful. Even if the Indian seed market gets saturated, the seeds can be exported to nearby countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. As the seed production cost in India is low, seed export to nearby countries will lead to profitability.
• Cereal seed segment is still undiscovered as most of the companies are involved in the production of varieties/hybrids of vegetables and cash crops. There is a lot of scope in cereal seed varieties/hybrids segment as a large portion of farming population in India is still growing cereal crops.
Threats:
• The entry of illegal/spurious seed of different crops especially cotton in the Indian seed market is providing threat to Indian seed industry as the low prices of these illegal seeds is leading to its increased seed sales.
• Uncertainty of monsoon leads to loss of seed industry.
• Multinational companies are trying hard to capture the massive Indian seed market, which may prove harmful to Indian seed companies.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
• Public-Private Partnership: The public-private partnership can take Indian seed industry to great heights. The private sector was not viewed properly by the public sector. Because of this reason, the private sector was not able to work up to its full potential. The partnership can lead to sharing of jobs as well as benefits. The private sector can make use of the wide extension network of public sector to promote and market its varieties as well as to provide extension facilities to the farmers, whereas public sector can get the R&D infrastructure and technological advances from the private sector.
• Creation of Seed Valleys: Seed valleys should be created for different crops in different parts of country according to the agro climatic conditions needed by the crop. The public and private sector should work together. Farmers should also become the partners in progress. Infrastructural facilities should be provided. People from public and private sector and the partner farmers should meet once in a fortnight to discuss the problems and needs.
SEED VALLEY
FARMERS
PUBLIC
SECTOR
PRIVATE
SECTOR
Providing infrastructure
Partners in progress
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• Changes in Seed Regulation mechanism: Seed regulatory mechanism should be there but the time taken for the implementation should be reduced. Sometimes due to large time taken by the regulatory authorities, discontent is there in the market which may result in illegal practices like marketing of spurious seeds in the case of Bt cotton. It should take place in the presence of persons from Seed companies.
• Removal of entry barriers for Multinational Seed Companies: Entry barriers should be removed as the entry of Multinational seed companies in the Indian seed market can lead to sharing of their germplasm, new technologies, etc, which can be used for the improvement of seeds produced for Indian seed market. It can prove productive for Indian farming. Also, as more number of companies will enter the Indian seed market, it will set up competition in the market, which can lead to lowering of seed prices, and finally Indian farmers will get benefited.
• Increasing the awareness level of farming community in India: Awareness level of the farmers should be increased, because less awareness can lead to discontent among the farmers. As it happened in the case of Bt cotton: Bt cotton is not suited for rainfed
conditions, but due to lack of awareness; farmers grew it in rainfed conditions,
and when the crop failed, they blamed the Seed companies producing Bt cotton
varieties for the loss. However, the Seed companies give the required
information on the seed packet, but most of the farmers ignore it, main reason
being the lack of education among the farming community in India.
For this, demonstrations should be carried out in the villages while introduction
of new varieties/hybrids and the farmers should be told about the benefits,
methods/practices to be followed, and precautions to be taken during the life of
that crop variety.
The company people should make regular visits to the villages for discussing
the problems faced by the farmers.
The farmers should be regularly motivated for using new seeds every year by
making them know about the benefits of using new seed every year.
The farmers should be provided access to credit; as even today, a large number
of farmers are taking credit from money lenders and paying high interests to
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them which lead to the loss and finally the result is suicides by many farmers.
The seed companies should take care of it, after all a large part of Indian
population still depends on agricultural activities, and India’s progress depends
on the progress of its people.
• Exploration of unexplored Cereal seed segment: Most of the Indian seed companies produce varieties/hybrids of vegetables, cash crops and millets, but the cereal seed segment is still left untouched by the private seed companies. The seed companies should also go for the production of cereal seed varieties/hybrids as this segment is loosing its importance. The farmers are shifting from cereal crops like rice and wheat to other crops like cotton because good hybrids/varieties of cereal crop seeds are not present in the market. The seed replacement rate is very low as most of the farmers who are growing cereals are using the farm saved seeds. The area under cereal crops is decreasing which is not a good sign, as India has edge over other countries in cereal production; the “Basmati” rice of India is famous all over the world and generates good revenues from export. Also, these crops are the basic food for the large portion of Indian population.
Increasing number of Bevarage industries in India: “Way towards success of
cereal seed segment”
Recently a large number of companies involved in the production of beverages
have opened in India. These companies require cereals in large amount for the
production purpose. It can prove as a good opportunity for the farmers. Farmers
can earn a lot from this emerging industry. But to make this happen, the farmers
shift to other crops from cereal crops should be stopped. And this can happen
only if emphasis is given on development of good varieties and hybrids of cereal
crops.
• Investment in R&D for the production of quality hybrids of Medicinal and Aromatic plants: The market for medicinal and aromatic plants is increasing at a
faster rate, and India has the suitable climate for their production. India can earn
a lot of profit by exporting these plants. Indian seed companies should take the
advantage of it. They should invest in R&D and go for vigorous research for the
production of quality varieties/ hybrids of medicinal and aromatic plants.
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• Hybrid seed revolution: India should go for hybrid seed revolution. Open pollinated varieties are not productive and can’t support the large population of India, so there should be a shift from open pollinated varieties to hybrid varieties. For this, farmers should be made aware of the benefits of using hybrids over open pollinated varieties. It will also result in increased SRR as hybrid seeds can’t be used every year, they have to be replaced.
• Promotion of GM crop seed varieties: The GM crops are highly productive and profitable. It is visible from the fact that in spite of a large number of controversies, the area under Bt cotton; the only GM crop in India, is increasing continuously. Also for the highly growing population of India, it can prove as the only support for fulfilling the needs of food in future.
• Formation of separate committees for checking the entry of illegal seeds in the market: Seed Association of India should make committees for different states specifically for checking and controlling the entry of illegal crop seeds in the market. The committees should also include persons from private sector.
• Export to nearby countries: As the seed production cost in India is low, seed export to nearby countries through roads will reduce the transportation cost and thus, will lead to profitability.
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ANNEXURES
Seed Market of various vegetables:
Crop
area
(000ha)
seed
market
in tons
value
(mRs)
area
(000ha)
seed
market
in tons
area
(000ha)
seed
market in
tons
area
(000ha)
seed
market
in tons
01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05
Beetroot 5.4 40.6 39.0 5.5 41.2 5.6 41.8 5.7 42.5
Bittergourd 154.5 386.3 294.0 159.1 397.8 163.9 409.8 168.8 422.1
Bottlegourd 183.9 643.8 185.3 189.4 663.1 195.1 683.0 201.0 703.4
Brinjal 710.3 355.2 229.9 738.7 369.4 768.3 384.1 799.0 399.5
Cabbage 205.0 102.5 333.2 210.1 105.1 215.4 107.7 220.8 110.4
Capsicum 94.0 28.2 115.7 96.3 28.9 98.7 29.6 101.2 30.4
Carrot 196.8 984.0 688.8 201.7 1008.6 206.8 1033.8 211.9 1059.7
Cauliflower 630.1 472.6 408.3 655.3 491.5 681.5 511.1 708.8 531.6
Chilli 988.9 494.5 541.9 1043.3 521.7 1100.7 550.4 1161.2 580.6
Clusterbeans 74.4 1859.0 142.4 75.8 1896.1 77.4 1934.1 78.9 1972.7
Coriander 82.0 984.0 295.2 84.1 1008.6 86.2 1033.8 88.3 1059.7
Cucumber 381.3 1144.0 810.4 396.6 1189.8 412.5 1237.4 428.9 1286.8
Dolichos bean 15.2 609.0 149.7 15.5 618.1 15.7 627.4 15.9 636.8
Frenchbeans 49.2 2949.2 144.3 50.4 3023.0 51.6 3098.5 52.9 3176.0
Knolkhol 85.7 85.7 25.2 87.4 87.4 89.1 89.1 90.9 90.9
Muskmelon 136.0 339.9 278.8 140.0 350.1 144.2 360.6 148.6 371.4
Okra 341.5 4268.2 970.8 355.1 4438.9 369.3 4616.4 384.1 4801.1
Onion 207.9 2598.4 707.3 218.3 2728.4 229.2 2864.8 240.6 3008.0
Peas 118.7 8902.4 436.0 123.4 9258.5 128.4 9628.8 133.5 10014.0
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Pumpkin 12.1 66.6 19.8 12.4 68.3 12.7 70.0 13.0 71.7
Radish 143.5 1148.0 167.4 147.1 1176.7 150.8 1206.1 154.5 1236.3
Ridgegourd 166.6 666.3 135.9 170.7 682.9 175.0 700.0 179.4 717.5
Spongegourd 33.5 133.9 125.3 34.5 137.9 35.5 142.1 36.6 146.3
Tomato 891.7 312.1 554.6 918.4 321.5 946.0 331.1 974.4 341.0
Watermelon 366.1 915.2 327.9 380.7 951.8 396.0 989.9 411.8 1029.5
Others 300.0 280.0 200.0 180.0
Total 6274.1 30489.3 8127.0 6790.0 31565.1 6955.5 32681.4 7190.8 33839.9
Source: www.seedassociationofindia.com
DISTRIBUTION OF CERTIFIED /QUALITY SEED OF FIELD CROPS (Qtty in 000 tons)
CROP 92-93 93-94 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05
CEREALS
Wheat 151.0 182.0 204.0 224.0 232.0 250.0 269.0 282.0 295.8 319.5 329.0 338.9 349.1
Paddy 143.0 136.0 146.0 154.0 166.0 170.0 170.0 183.0 197.2 213.0 219.4 225.9 232.7
Maize 17.0 14.0 14.0 16.0 19.0 20.0 20.0 24.0 28.0 30.2 31.1 32.1 33.0
Jowar 39.0 37.0 33.0 27.0 27.0 26.0 24.0 29.0 33.3 36.0 36.7 37.8 38.9
Bajra 17.0 17.0 16.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 18.0 19.1 20.6 61.9 62.5 63.1
Ragi 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3
Barley 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3
Others 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.0
Sub Total 371 392.0 419.0 444.0 467.0 489.0 507.0 543.0 581.1 627.6 686.6 705.8 725.5
PULSES
Gram 10.0 11.0 11.0 12.0 14.0 18.0 21.0 22.0 24.2 26.1 26.7 27.2 27.7
Lentil 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4
Peas 3.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.8 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.6
Black gram 8.0 8.0 8.0 7.0 11.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 11.8 12.7 13.0 13.3 13.5
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Moong 6.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5 9.2 9.3 9.5 9.6
Red gram 5.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 9.6 10.4 10.5 10.7 10.9
Cowpea 1.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 - 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.3
Others 1.0 - - - - - - 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Sub Total 34.0 37.0 38.0 36.0 43.0 49.0 54.0 58.0 63.0 68.0 69.3 70.6 72.1
OILSEEDS
Groundnut 70.0 67.0 70.0 69.0 73.0 57.0 62.0 63.0 65.0 70.2 72.3 73.1 73.9
Mustard 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 11.0 13.0 14.0 14.5 14.8 15.0
Sunflower 6.0 7.0 7.0 8.0 6.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 10.8 11.1 11.3 11.6
Soybean 19.0 26.0 30.0 36.0 31.0 19.0 20.0 20.0 30.0 32.4 33.4 34.0 34.7
Castor 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.9
Sub Total 105.0 110.0 117.0 125.0 123.0 96.0 102.0 105.0 120.5 130.1 134.0 136.1 138.1
FIBRES
Cotton 19.0 19.0 20.0 23.0 29.0 26.0 27.0 40.0 65.0 96.0 99.8 102.8 105.9
Jute 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1
Mesta - - - - - 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.5
Sub Total 21.0 21.0 22.0 25.0 32.0 31.0 32.0 45.0 71.0 102.5 106.5 109.6 112.9
Potato 52.1 55.0 58.6 61.9 65.3 65.4 68.3 72.1 81.0 85.0 85.9 88.4 91.1
Vegetables 29.3 31.0 33.0 28.8 30.2 33.7 34.9 36.8 36.8 38.2 39.3 40.5 41.7
Sub Total 81.4 86.0 91.6 90.7 95.5 99.1 103.2 108.9 117.8 123.2 125.2 129.0 132.8
Sudan sorghum
Grand Total 612 646 688 721 761 764 798 860 953 1051.4 11 21.6 1151.1 1181.4
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Estimated size of the domestic market for seed in selected countries (in USD million)
(updated in July 2007)
Country Size of domestic
market Country
Size of domestic
market
USA 7,080 Romania 120
China 4,000 Chile 120
France 1,915 Serbia & Montenegro 120
Japan 1,500 Nigeria 120
Brazil 1,500 Finland 103
India 1,300 Austria 100
Germany 1,000 New Zealand 98
Argentina 850 Slovakia 90
Italy 670 Switzerland 90
Canada 550 Paraguay 70 Russian Federation 500 Tunisia 70
Korea 400 Uruguay 70
Australia 400 Bangladesh 60
Mexico 350 Portugal 60
Taiwan 300 Ireland 60
Spain 300 Iran 55
Poland 260 Israel 50
United Kingdom 257 Kenya 50
Turkey 250 Colombia 40
South Africa 250 Bolivia 35
Netherlands 208 Zimbabwe 30
Czech Republic 200 Peru 30
Hungary 200 Slovenia 30
Denmark 170 Saudi Arabia 18
Morocco 160 Zambia 15
Greece 160 Ecuador 12
Sweden 155 Malawi 10
Egypt 140 Dominican Republic 7
Belgium 126 Uganda 6
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Total = 26,890 *
* This total represents the sum of the commercial seed markets of the listed countries. The commercial world seed market is assessed at approximately US$ 34 billion.
Source: www.worldseed.org
Seed Exports (FOB) of Selected Countries, 2005 (in USD million)
Country Agricultural Seeds
Horticultural Seeds Total
USA 618 304 922
Netherlands 127 557 784
France 510 178 688
Germany 313 27 340
Canada 186 29 215
Denmark 141 37 178
Italy 115 56 171
Chile 128 43 171
Belgium 119 4 123
Mexico 100 9 109
Hungary 100 6 106
Japan 23 69 92
Spain 53 25 78
Australia 62 11 73
Israel 3 59 62
China 32 29 61
Austria 57 2 59
Argentina 45 11 56 Brazil 44 8 52
United Kingdom 30 19 49
Poland 39 3 42
South Africa 35 4 39
New Zealand 20 15 35
Sweden 30 5 35
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Czech Republic 28 5 33
Turkey 26 6 32
Thailand 2 24 26
Switzerland 22 2 24
Ukraine 18 0 18
Korea 1 16 17
India 7 9 16
Greece 13 3 16
Slovakia 16 0 16
Guatemala 8 6 14
Taiwan 2 10 12
Peru 3 9 12
Russian Federation 8 2 10
Romania 9 1 10
Latvia 8 1 9
Costa Rica 1 7 8
Portugal 4 4 8
Lithuania 7 1 8
Ireland 7 0 7
Kazakhstan 7 0 7
Moldova 6 0 6
Slovenia 4 2 6
Kenya 5 0 5
Pakistan 2 3 5
Serbia & Montenegro 4 1 5
Tanzania 0 5 5
Vietnam 1 3 4
Croatia 4 0 4
Colombia 3 0 3
Uruguay 3 0 3
Luxemburg 3 0 3
Morocco 0 2 2
Egypt 2 0 2
Bulgaria 2 0 2
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Bolivia 2 0 2 Iran 2 0 2
Venezuela 1 0 1
Georgia 1 0 1
TOTAL 3172 1632 4904
Source: www.worldseed.org
Seed Imports (FOB) of Selected Countries, 2005 (in USD million)
Country Agricultural Seeds
Horticultural Seeds Total
USA 339 167 506
Mexico 247 125 372
France 257 75 332
Netherlands 156 173 329
Spain 179 126 305
Germany 257 44 301
Italy 170 101 271
Canada 158 52 210
United Kingdom 97 37 134
Belgium 106 23 129
Japan 72 55 127
Poland 86 24 110
Russian Federation 69 40 109
Greece 69 18 87
China 43 38 81
Hungary 63 14 77
Austria 52 7 59
Ukraine 43 11 54
Turkey 20 34 54
Switzerland 42 10 52
Denmark 38 13 51
Brazil 36 14 50
Czech Republic 45 4 49
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Korea, Republic of 17 27 44
Romania 36 8 44
Australia 25 16 41
Saudi Arabia 30 10 40
Portugal 28 11 39
Argentina 30 9 39
Slovakia 33 3 36
Egypt 10 20 30
Sweden 25 4 29
Morocco 16 13 29
Chile 22 4 26
South Africa 16 9 25
India 3 18 21
Israel 9 12 21
Iran 13 8 21
Pakistan 9 11 20
Taiwan 2 17 19
Uruguay 17 2 19
Tunisia 13 6 19
Slovenia 14 4 18
Finland 13 5 18
Venezuela 10 8 18
Ireland 14 3 17
Croatia 10 7 17
Vietnam n.a. n.a. 17
Algeria 4 13 17
Bulgaria 13 4 17
Belarus 12 3 15
Serbia & Montenegro 10 4 14
Syria 7 7 14
Colombia 10 4 14
Thailand 1 12 13
New Zealand 5 8 13
Lithuania 10 2 12
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Jordan 4 7 11
Norway 6 5 11
Kenya 7 4 11
Paraguay 11 0 11
Hong Kong, China 1 9 10
Guatemala 5 4 9
Bosnia & Herzegovina 6 2 8
Philippines 5 3 8
Ecuador 5 3 8
Yemen 2 6 8
Peru 6 2 8
Moldova 6 2 8
Latvia 7 1 8
Costa Rica 3 4 7
United Arab Emirates 4 3 7
Lebanon 4 3 7
Angola 1 5 6
Bolivia 6 0 6
Luxemburg 6 0 6
Panama 5 1 6
Uzbekistan 2 4 6
Senegal 2 3 5
Kazakhstan 3 2 5
Iraq 2 2 4
Libya 0 4 4
Zimbabwe 3 1 4
Cuba n.a. n.a. 4 Macedonia, FYR 1 2 3 Estonia 2 1 3
Albania 1 1 2
Burkina Faso 0 2 2
Ethiopia 0 2 2
Kuwait 0 2 2
Dominican Republic 0 2 2
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
Cyprus 1 1 2
Azerbaijan 0 1 1
Sudan 0 1 1
Malta 0 1 1
Cameroon 1 0 1
TOTAL 3249 1593 4863
Source: www.worldseed.org
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QUESTIONNAIRE ON INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY
SECTION-I
1. Name of the company official:____________________________________________
2. Designation of the official: _______________________________________________
3. Name of the seed company:______________________________________________
4. What do you think would be the size of Indian seed market(approx): Rs. _______Crores
5. What is your estimate of the share of Indian seed industry in Global seed market:
_______%
6. Could you pl. indicate to us your estimate on the growth rate of Indian seed industry
over the last three years:________% CAGR
7. What do you think is the market size of different crop seed segments in India(according
to your estimates):
S. No. Crop Seed Segment Market size (Rs. Crores)
1 Cereal seeds
2 Millet seeds
3 Forage crop seeds
4 Oil seeds
5 Vegetable seeds
6 Fibre crop seeds
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
8. What is your estimate of the market size of different crop seeds in India(according to
estimates):
S. No. Crop seed segment Crop Market size
(Rs. Crores)
1 Cereal seeds Paddy
Wheat
Maize
2 Millet seeds Pearl millet
Finger millet
3 Forage crop seeds Sorghum
4 Oil seeds Soybean
Groundnut
Sunflower
Safflower
Mustard
Castor
5 Vegetable seeds Tomato
Chilli
Capsicum
Cauliflower
Cabbage
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Brinjal
Okra
Carrot
Radish
Bottle Gourd
Bitter Gourd
6 Fibre crop seeds Cotton
9. What do you think is the share of Public sector and Private sector in the Indian seed
market:
S. No. Crop seed segment Share(%) of
Public sector
Share(%) of
Private sector
1 Cereal seeds
2 Millet seeds
3 Forage crop seeds
4 Oil seeds
5 Vegetable seeds
6 Fibre crop seeds
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10. What is the awareness level of farmers (about the new varieties/hybrids) in different
regions:
(Please rate awareness on a scale of 1 to 4, 1-highly aware, 2- somewhat aware, 3-less
aware, 4-not aware)
Awareness level of farmers
(Please tick)
S. No.
Region 1
Highly
aware
2
Somewhat
aware
3
Less
aware
4
Not
aware
Reason
1 North
2 South
3 East
4 West
11. Which product attributes are preferred by the farmers in different crop seed segments:
S. No. Crop seed segment Crop Product attributes preferred
by the farmers
1 Cereal seeds
2 Millet seeds
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
3 Forage crop seeds
4 Oil seeds
5 Vegetable seeds
6 Fibre crop seeds
12. According to you what do you think the future growth rate(5 years) of Indian seed
industry would be :_____% CAGR
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
13. Could you pl. indicate the key drivers for the growth of Indian seed industry:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
14. Can you pl. indicate the key segments of the future:
(Please rate them as per importance of the segments in the future on a scale of 1 to 5,
1-very important, 2-Important, 3- somewhat important, 4-less Important, 5-not imp:
Rating
(Please tick) Rating(Please tick) S.
No.
Crop
Segment
1 2 3 4 5
S.
No.
Crop
Segment
1 2 3 4 5
1 Cotton 6 Soybean
2 Maize 7 Sunflower
3 Pearl
Millet
8 Mustard
4 Paddy 9 Castor
5 Wheat 10 Vegetables
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SECTION-II
1. Which are the major areas of operation of the company(Please tick the appropriate
options):
Pan India
North India
South India
West India
East India
2. Which are the major crop seed segments dealt by the company:
S. No. Crop seed segment dealt by the company
1
2
3
4
3. What is the approx turnover of the company: Rs. _______________Crore
4. What has been the average growth rate of the company(past 5 years):_______%CAGR
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
5. Which are the most successful seed varieties/hybrids of the company(according to sales
volume):
S. No. Name of the crop Variety
1
2
3
4
6. Which are the most successful seed varieties/hybrids of the company(according to sales
revenue):
S. No. Name of the crop Variety Revenue Share (%
of total revenue)
1
2
3
4
5
7. Who according to you are the major players in different crop segments(please name
them):
S. No. Crop seed segment Name of the crop Major Players Reasons
1 Cereal seeds
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
2 Millet seeds
3 Forage crop seeds
4 Oil seeds
5 Vegetable seeds
6 Fibre crop seeds
8. What is the supply chain of the company(Please tick the appropriate option):
a. Company Distributor Dealer Farmer
b. Company Dealer Farmer
c. Any other,(Please specify):_________________________________________
9. If there is distributor in the supply chain, then please mention the following(approx):
a. Margin(%) from company to distributor:_____________________________
b. Credit period to distributor:________________________________________
c. Margin(%) from distributor to dealer:________________________________
d. Credit period to dealer:____________________________________________
e. Company’s contribution in margin(%) from distributor to dealer:________
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10. If distributor is not there in the supply chain, then please mention the following:
a. Margin(%) from company to dealer:_________________________________
b. Credit period to dealers:___________________________________________
11. Do you give different margins (for trade / Channel) for different crops:
Yes No
12. If yes, please specify the margin(approx. %) given for different crops:
S. No. Crop Margin (%)
1
2
3
4
5
13. What are the problems/key issues in the supply chain:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
14. What are your suggestions for sorting out the problems in the supply chain:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________________________
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15. Which promotional tools are used by the company(for farmers):
a. Field demonstration
b. Advertisement through TV/radio/newspaper
c. Pamphlets, hoardings and other printed material
d. Any other, (Please specify):_______________________________________
16. Can you pl. rate the effectiveness of various promotional measures:
(Please rate the effectiveness of promotional measures on a scale of 1 to 5, 1-very effective, 2-
effective, 3- somewhat effective, 4-less effective, 5-not effective):
Rating(Please tick)
S.
No. Promotional measure 1
Very
effective
2
Effective
3
Somewhat
effective
4
Less
effective
5
Not
effective
1 Field demonstration
2 Advertisement through TV/radio
3 Advertisement through newspaper /
magazines
3 Pamphlets, hoardings and other
printed material
4 Any other, (Please specify):
________________________
17. Do you face specific regulations in specific states:
Yes No
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
18. If yes, then what are those specific regulations faced in specific states:
S. No. Regulation faced State
1
2
3
19. Do you export seeds:
Yes No
20. If yes, then which are the countries where seeds are exported:
S. No. Country Name of the crop Variety exported
1
2
3
21. If No, then what are the reasons for not entering the exports business:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
22. Do you have tie ups/technical collaboration with foreign companies:
Yes No
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
23. If yes, then what are the names of the companies with which you have tie
up/collaboration:
S. No. Name of the company Country Type of tie up/
collaboration
1
2
3
24. Do you have any plans to expand business to other countries:
Yes No
25. If yes, then what are the names of the countries where you are planning to expand the
business :
S. No. Name of the country
1
2
3
26. Which is the major focus area of the company for future growth:
a. R&D
b. Marketing
c. Acquisition
d. Any other, (Please specify):_________________________________________
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
27. Which are the major areas where the company should concentrate to increase the sales:
(Rate them on the basis of importance, 5-most important, 4-important, 3-somewhat important,
2- less important, 1-not important):
Rating(Please tick)
S. No.
Areas of concentration 1
Not
important
2
Less
important
3
Somewhat
important
4
Important
5
Most
important
1 R&D investment
2 Distribution network
3 Sales Promotion
4 Extension services
5 Any other, (Please specify):
______________________
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
SECTION-3
1. What are your views on the:
a. GM seeds:______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
b. Consolidation in Indian seed industry:_____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Which are the crop seed segments with high future growth potential in India:
S. No. Crop seed segment with high
future growth potential Reason
1
2
3
4
5
3. Is the Indian seed industry competitive globally:
Yes No
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4. If Yes, then what are the factors which make Indian seed industry competitive
globally(Please tick the appropriate option):
a. Quality
b. Branding strategy
c. High product range
d. Pricing
e. Any other, (Please specify):_________________________________________
5. If no, then what steps should be taken to make Indian seed industry globally
competitive (Pl. tick):
a. Emphasis on R&D
b. Policy reforms
c. Better advertising & marketing strategy
d. Any other, (Please specify):_________________________________________
6. Rate the competitiveness of Indian seeds in Global seed market:
(Rate from 1-5, 5-highly competitive, 4-competitive, 3-somewhat competitive, 2- less
competitive, 1-not competitive)
Rating(Please tick)
S. No. Crop seed
segment 1
not
competitive
2
less
competitive
3
somewhat
competitive
4
competitive
5
highly
competitive
1 Cereal
seeds
2 Millet
seeds
3 Forage
crop seeds
4 Oil seeds
5 Vegetable
seeds
6 Fibre crop
seeds
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7. If no, then what are the reasons for not being competitive:
S. No. Crop seed segment Reasons for not being competitive
1 Cereal seeds
2 Millet seeds
3 Forage crop seeds
4 Oil seeds
5 Vegetable seeds
6 Fibre crop seeds
8. Which regulatory policies are affecting the Indian seed industry:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
9. What are your suggestions for making changes in the regulatory policies affecting
Indian seed industry:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
10. What are the key issues and challenges before Indian seed industry:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
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11. What are the opportunities in Indian seed industry:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
12. Which are the key constraints in efficient operation of Private seed sector in India(Please
tick the appropriate option):
a. Delay in giving approval to new varieties by Licensing authority
b. Wide distribution network of Public seed sector
c. Any other,(please specify): ________________________________________
13. What are the future trends in Indian seed industry:
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
c. _________________________________________________________________
d. _________________________________________________________________
14. Suggestions:____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
15. Please suggest if we can quote your name in the report for the views given by you about
the Seed industry:
Yes No
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INDIAN SEED INDUSTRY | Yes Bank Ltd.
REFERENCES
www.agricoop.nic.in
www.worldseed.org
www.seedassociationofindia.com
www.indiaseeds.com
www.planningcommission.nic.in
www.seedquest.com
www.indiastat.gov.in
www.usda.gov
www.seednet.gov.in
www.fao.org
www.icrisat.org
www.cottoncorp.gov.in
Mr. R. K. Sinha, Executive Director, National Seed Association of India
Websites of Seed companies