The Centre will hold consultations with farmer organisations on its proposed new seed bill, which seeks to crack down on the sale of fake, adulterated and substandard seeds, with Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expected to meet farmer union representatives from across the country on Thursday.

The meeting at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi comes ahead of the Parliament session and is described as the final round of stakeholder engagement before the legislation is finalised.

According to the government, the law aims to tighten regulation of the seed sector, curb what it calls 'seed mafias' and introduce stringent provisions against companies and traders selling fake or poor-quality seed — heavy penalties and imprisonment for offenders, alongside stronger quality control and traceability through the supply chain.

Poor-quality seed often causes crop failure and heavy losses, the government argues, and the law is meant to prevent that with a stronger framework; it also intends to safeguard farmers' rights over traditional seeds.

Invited are the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, factions of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, the All India Kisan Coordination Committee, Kisan Mahapanchayat, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj and others, plus state bodies from Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Kerala. The ministry says the feedback will be incorporated before the bill reaches Parliament, where it is expected to replace the existing framework with stricter quality standards, stronger enforcement and greater accountability for seed producers and distributors — one of the government's key farm reforms for the session.

Source: The Economic Times