Shivraj Singh Chouhan asks National Seed Corporation to raise market share to 25%

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
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VENKATACHALAPATHY_C

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday asked public sector National Seeds Corporation (NSC) to prepare a roadmap by identifying the challenges to increase its share to 25 per cent from the current 4 per cent in the seed market. He assured farmers that that the government would further strengthen NSC to reduce influence of private sector seed companies, whose main motto is to maximise profit.

Inaugurating six state-of-the-art seed processing plants of NSC at function in Delhi, he said these plants would ensure easy access to high-quality seeds for farmers, significantly increasing agricultural productivity, which is very crucial for the sector.

Pointing out that during the 15-day long “Developed Agriculture Resolution Campaign” ahead of Kharif sowing season, he said most of the complaints were regarding fake and substandard seeds.

“Therefore, ensuring the availability of quality seeds is highly critical, and the NSC can play a crucial role in this regard. The government is taking strict action on fake seed issue, Chouhan said lauding NSC’s efforts in contributing to replenish the country’s food reserves.

The minister suggested that NSC should innovate for the convenience of farmers, working in regional languages to ensure maximum benefits reach farmers. Though private companies have their contribution, but public corporations have their own importance, he said adding there is a need to further improve performances of state seed corporations. “Prepare a target, accordingly make a roadmap on how to achieve it by identifying the challenges,” he said.

Chouhan while inaugurated the processing plant, with a capacity to process 1 tonne vegetable seeds per hour, at NSC head office, he also virtually inaugurated five other plants located in Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Dharwad, Hassan and Raichur (in Karnataka), and Suratgarh (Rajasthan), each having a capacity of 4 tons per hour.

The minister directed NSC Chairman Maninder Kaur Dwivedi to expand NSC’s presence to all districts of the country from current 550 and suggested priority should be given to the unrepresented 100 districts, if any, covered under the Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (PM-DDKY).

Addressing the event, union agriculture secretary Devesh Kumar Chaturvedi asked NSC to completely do away with procuring seeds from middle men. He said NSC should directly get into contract with farmers by supplying them breeder seeds for either multiplication or for conversion to certified seeds after securing the seeds from research institutions of ICAR.

Published on October 27, 2025