Paddy Seed Business

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1. For the last two decades a significant portion of the world’s agricultural research has focused on rice. That research resulted in the development of modern rice varieties and a modern rice technology that has greatly increased rice production, especially in Asia.?

2. Hybrid seeds are quite cost-effective and can be saved and used for the next 6-7 years. Only six percent of India’s total 44 million hectares of paddy cultivation is of hybrid seeds.

3. Telangana is the largest producer of hybrid seeds, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka. Out of the total hybrid seeds market in India, paddy has a market share of only nine percent.?

4. Despite the market share of 9 percent, the area penetration of hybrid paddy is just 6 percent of total paddy cultivation.

5. In 2018, the total market for seeds in India was valued at Rs 4.30 lakh crore. It is projected to increase by Rs 6.45 lakh crore. Around 50 percent of the global seed market is controlled by a few multinationals such as Bayer AG (Germany) and its subsidiary Monsanto Co, DuPont (USA), and Chinese-owned Syngenta AG.

6. Currently, 94 percent of the area in India that is under paddy cultivation either uses Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) of seeds or inbred ones.

7. OPV seeds, if properly isolated from other varieties, produce seeds that sprout into plants very similar to the parent.

8. Normally, each rice flower contains both male and female organs. This allows the plant to reproduce itself through self-pollination or inbreeding.

9. Thus, in inbred rice seeds, the offspring or succeeding generations would have the same genetic makeup. Most of the rice that we see in fields today is from inbred seeds.

10. Inbred seeds are quite cost-effective and can be saved and used for the next 6-7 years. Only six per cent of India’s total 44 million hectares of paddy cultivation is of hybrid seeds.

11. The majority of hybrid seed cultivation is done in relatively under-developed states such as Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. These states have lower productivity in comparison to other rice-producing states like Punjab and Haryana.

12. Here is the catch: Seed companies push for hybrid paddy seeds because such seeds mean business — not just that of seeds but also of pesticides. Hybrid seeds are prone to pests and diseases. They require pesticides that could be supplied by the same companies.?

13. Hybrid seeds cannot be used twice. That means a farmer would need to purchase hybrid paddy seeds every year. Though the yield doubles with hybrid seeds, at the same time, investment cost also increases in terms of the price of seeds and pesticides.

14. Despite the market share of 9 percent, the area penetration of hybrid paddy is just 6 percent of total paddy cultivation.

15. In 2018, the total market for seeds in India was valued at Rs 4.30 lakh crore. It is projected to increase by Rs 6.45 lakh crore. Around 50 percent of the global seed, market is controlled by a few multinationals such as Bayer AG (Germany) and its subsidiary Monsanto Co, DuPont (USA), and Chinese-owned Syngenta AG.

16. We would like to highlight here that investment in the seed is five percent of the total cultivation cost. Using hybrid seeds, farmers get 20-30 percent more yield, and save on labor costs due to less spraying of pesticides and also cost of pesticides, which will prove to be a better return on investment for the farmer. It is also a fact that states like Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, etc with lesser hybrid adoption use a large number of pesticides. On the other hand, states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, etc which use a higher amount of hybrid seeds, have less usage of pesticides. Having said that, farmers have the option of using different varieties other than hybrid seeds.