The issue of agricultural development is globally important and especially crucial to satisfying the needs of the ever-growing population in a developing country like India. Agriculture has been the mainstay of Indian civilisation for over five millennia. Even today, it is the fulcrum of the Indian economy, accounting for about 30 per cent of the GDP and involving about 68 per cent of over 1000-million population. In India, an increasing population with an improved standard of living and continuously declining arable land continue to increase the pressure on natural resources.

In spite of the significant gains from the green revolution, the average productivity of Indian agriculture is significantly lower than that of the developed, as well as developing nations. For instance, while India ranks first in the production of pulses, it is ranked a lowly twenty second in terms of yield per hectare. Similarly, in rice production, India stands second, but in yield per hectare it comes fifteenth. Only with wheat does the country fare a little better, coming second on the production front and fifth in yield.

There is an urgent need for the agriculture sector to grow at 5 per cent per annum to achieve sustained economic growth of 8-9 per cent in India. In order to increase agricultural productivity, widespread use of genetically improved seeds and planting material is essential. Seeds are a major input and the initial lever for bolstering agricultural production. Therefore, the seed industry is perceived as a cost-effective instrument of positive change in Indian agriculture.

The development of the seed industry in India from the 1950s through the 1970s was dominated by the public sector, with a supporting role played by the private sector. The growth of the Indian seed industry in the private sector started in the early 1970s. The Government of India recognising the need for continuous upgradation of seed/planting material to maximise agricultural productivity and the worldwide trend of genetic research moving to the private sector, introduced a new policy on seed development (NPSD) in October 1988. The NPSD has enabled medium and large seed enterprises and companies with foreign/technical collaboration to start playing an increasing role in the development and marketing of high quality seed varieties thereby boosting agricultural production.

 

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