Seeds Bill will help corporates, undermining states: BRS

The BRS has strongly opposed the draft new Seeds Bill proposed by the NDA government at the Centre, alleging that it would allow corporates to influence seed prices while weakening the role played by state governments and agricultural universities.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao demanded that the Centre bring forth legislation with strict and transparent regulations that serve the interests of farmers and promote agricultural development instead of prioritising corporate interests, including foreign ones.

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Rao said that the BRS has already submitted a detailed feedback on the draft Seeds Bill that seeks to replace the old and outdated legislation, Seeds Act, 1966. “We reject the anti-farmer Seed Bill proposed by the Union government,” asserted KT Rama Rao, pointing out that the draft legislation places the interest of corporate firms above those of farmers.

He argued that the proposed Bill lacks clarity on the measures to be taken to curb the use of spurious seeds. Moreover, there was no guarantee of timely compensation in case the farmers suffered damages due to fake seeds. While the state government’s role in regulating seed prices is greatly undermined in the present draft, it would also allow corporate firms to influence the prices. Furthermore, the draft Bill fails to hold seed companies accountable for producing spurious seeds and only places the responsibility on sellers and the rest of the supply chain. The draft has no provisions for blacklisting a company at the national level or imposing heavy penalties or jail sentences in case the seeds turn out to be fake.

Lashing out at the Centre, Rao said the entire draft legislation paves the way for the Centre to bring in the entire seed-related issues under its own grip, while weakening the state’s role in framing its own laws according to local conditions. Agriculture features in the State list of the Constitution and the BRS alleged the legislation would allow the Centre to tilt the balance in its favour. Rao said the BRS would soon hold a roundtable against the Seeds Bill. The draft Bill is aimed at modernising the regulations, ensuring quality and affordability of seeds and liberalising seed imports, bringing in global varieties.