Policies should focus on farmer-centred seed production
Representative photo: iStock. Following the popularity of hybrid corn since the 1930s, many crops, such as pearl millet, sunflowers and sorghum, entered into markets. The term hybrid generally refers to seeds derived by crossing two genetically divergent parent cultivars through controlled pollination. In this approach, each parent cultivar is inbred for several generations to promote improved growth and crop yield.
The original cross must be repeated for each season to produce F1 hybrids, which increases the cost of production. But, the higher cost of hybrid seed is compensated by increased crop yield, which may be at least 20 per cent compared to the pure-bred varieties, according to the ICAR-AICRP programme.
Now, nearly 99 per cent of corn in the United States and other countries are grown from hybrid seeds. The same applies to soyabean, sorghum, cotton, peanuts and many other crops.
Also read: Supreme Court puts environmental release of GM mustard on hold
In recent years, scientists have developed Genetically Modified (GM) hybrids by using biotechnology techniques to identify and splice genes of interest into plants to make them resistant to certain pests or produce other desirable traits, as done in bollworm-resistant Bt Cotton.
The strains of the bacterium bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produce different toxins that are harmful to insects, and the gene coding in Bt toxins produces a natural insecticide in the plant tissues. But toxins produced in plant tissues of GM crops to protect them against pests have also set off serious controversy regarding the bio-safety of GM crop products. It has created a major political and cultural debate in Europe and other countries, threatening agricultural exports globally.
Now, multinational corporations (MNCs) have started using hybrid varieties as a major tool to monopolise the seed industry. Hybrid seeds make farmers dependent on seed markets and leave them with no option other than purchasing expensive hybrid seeds every season. These seeds can’t be produced and preserved from previous cropping seasons, as practised in self-pollinated crops like wheat, rice, pulses, mustards etc.
Some of the pre-Green Revolution era varieties of seeds — C-306, Lok-1, Urd T-9, Mustard Varuna, Toria T-9, and Tarori Basmati-370 — are still regularly cultivated by the farmers using seeds saved from their own produce.
Read more: GM Mustard: Doctors demand ban on crops, uprooting of trial plantations
Indian seed corporates and MNCs mainly focus on high-value hybrid crops and are now oriented toward a monopolised, market-driven approach. To further monopolise seed and agrochemical markets, MNCs are developing herbicide-resistant GM crops with specific genes inserted into the crop genetic structure so farmers can use only selective herbicides to destroy invasive weeds.
Many such GM hybrid crops, including GM-Mustard and HT-Rice, are seeking approval even without having any yield superiority over standard pure-bred varieties. Laws and regulations should be formulated to promote farmer-centred seed production systems while minimising their detrimental effects on seed production.
Unfortunately, India has adopted a flawed system for approving GM hybrids through the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEA). The committee functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change without having any direct control over the seed production system — this favoured MNCs in monopolising Bt-Cotton markets.
MNCs selling low-yielding Bt-Cotton seeds to local seed companies caused massive crop failure in northwestern India during 2021-2022. Farmers in Punjab and neighbouring states are now compelled to shift from Bt-Cotton crops during the current season (2023).
Last year, MNCs managed to get approval for low-yielding GM-Mustard hybrids after lobbying central government bureaucracy and manipulating scientific facts. Even traditional hybrids of mustards that are marketed in India bear poor yields compared to some pure-bred
varieties such as RH-725 and RH-749 etc. This involves a serious betrayal of innocent farmers.
In India, paddy and wheat account for nearly 85 per cent share in the value of the seed business. Rice hybrids are also cultivated in Southeast and East Asian countries, including China. Fifty years of research by Yuan Longping, known as the ‘father of hybrid rice’, contributed to the cultivation of over six billion hectares of hybrid rice with a 20-30 per cent yield increase in comparison to conventional varieties.
However, this success story has not been repeated in India, with just seven per cent of rice areas covered under hybrid rice, mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. While rice productivity in these states is below the national average, seed companies have managed to expand markets by lobbying state administrations.
Also read: Hostile takeover: Why seed sovereignty in Africa is under threat
Northwestern states of Punjab and Haryana have seen very low adoption of hybrid rice despite support from state governments; none of the hybrid varieties here has shown yield superiority of more than 20 per cent over the pure-bred varieties. Conventional varieties with fine-grain qualities prevented companies backed by MNCs from expanding their market.
Interestingly, during the last two decades, about 20 rice hybrids were released by the Central Varietal Release Committee for general cultivation in northwestern India. Though none of the public sector rice hybrids was adopted by the farmers on a large scale, MNCs managed to sell hybrid seeds through manipulative marketing practices and lobbying. To avoid legal complications and compensation to the farmers in case of yield losses, they adopted corrupt marketing practices of not mentioning the average seed yield of rice hybrids on the packaging or promotional materials.
The sowing of paddy for this season officially began in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh on May 15. Ground reports suggest MNCs selling hybrid seed at exorbitant prices of Rs 400-Rs 500 per kilogram against Rs 40-Rs 50 per kg for pure-bred varieties.
In a nutshell, farmers are being cheated by paying higher prices to buy comparatively poor-yielding hybrid rice seeds sold through manipulative marketing practices.
It’s also pertinent to mention that hybrid seeds caused seed yield losses of more than 20 per cent due to the spread of southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus diseases that impacted national food security and exports. Therefore, in the interests of farmers and the country, the government should be vigilant against the sale of low-productive hybrid rice seeds in the country.
Virender Singh Lather is a former principal scientist at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.