India’s draft Seeds Bill proposes recognition of foreign ‘organisation’ in field trials
India’s draft Seeds Bill, put out by the government last week for comments from the public, has provisions to allow foreign entities to conduct trials and certification. However, it has created a confusion among breeders within the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as many perceive this as a dilution of the dominance of the public sector agri research body. Officials in the Agriculture Ministry said that ICAR’s role will further increase and the intended provisions would help cut time gap in providing seeds (commercial release) to farmers.
According to Section 16 (3), “The Central government may, on the recommendations of the (Central Seed) Committee, by notification, recognise any organisation established in territory outside India, for conducting trials to assess the Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) of any kind or variety as may be prescribed.”
Section 27 says: “The Central government may, on the recommendations of the Committee, by notification, recognise any Seed Certification Agency established in territory outside India, for such purposes as may be prescribed.”
Precedents abroad
But official sources said that it could be a tool for India if foreign Seed Certification Agencies are approved/recognised here as there is no such provision now for the imported seeds, which are dominated by horticulture and fodder crops. Many countries have these provisions, and they allow import only after approval by select certifying agencies in foreign soil.
“Even for export of many agri commodities, the certifying labs in India are to be approved by the importing countries. Whereas for the purpose of seeds import into India, there is no such provision in the current law,” a senior official said.
Regarding conducting trials by foreign entities, officials said that Section 16 (3) itself is very clearly mentioned “organisation” and not “company”, officials said. The objective of Section 16 (3) is to reduce the time lag in trial in India if a crop has been grown or the seed tested in same agro climatic conditions as the places where imported seeds are intended to be sold/grown, the sources said.
“When one seed is applied for approval, currently it goes through trials for three seasons. If, after approval of such organisations under the yet to framed Seeds Rules, trials will be monitored by ICAR and data are shared. It would reduce the normal time to 1 or 2 seasons in the trials conducted at the level of All India Coordinated Research Project,” the official said.
‘Political project’
Meanwhile, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), affiliated with CPI (M), said that the Seeds Bill is part of the larger political project of the RSS-BJP to dispossess the small farmers and surrender India’s seed sovereignty to a handful of multinational and domestic monopolies.
“The draft Bill would create a conducive atmosphere for the monopolies to indulge in predatory pricing of seeds,” AIKS said in a statement.
The Bill must actively complement, not conflict with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Right Act 2001, and India’s international commitments under the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) and the ITPGRFA (International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture), said AIKS President Ashok Dhawale.
Published on November 17, 2025
