Lok Sabha Question No. 3249 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-01
Subject: Development of Varieties of Seeds
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: KANWAR SINGH TANWAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3249

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01/01/2019

## DEVELOPMENT OF VARIETIES OF SEEDS

## 3249.  SHRI KANWAR SINGH TANWAR:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=h be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  farmers  in  the  country  are  dependent  on  seeds  developed  by Multinational Corporations and private companies;

- (b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government allocates funds for development of new seeds varieties by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and other agricultural universities; and

(d) if so, the funds allocated during the last three years for the purpose and the number of seeds varieties developed so far by ICAR and other agriculture universities?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f'k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h

## (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) & (b): Farmers in the country are not dependent on seeds developed by multinational  corporations  and  private  seed  companies  except  hybrids  of Bt cotton, maize, pearl millet and sunflower.

Crop  Science  Division  of  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR), through its 21 Research Institutes, 03 Bureaux, 02 National Research Centres, 02 Project Directorates,  22  All  India  Coordinated  Research  Projects  (AICRPs)  and  10  Network Research Projects in active collaboration with State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) is engaged in the development of eco-friendly, improved seed (crop) varieties/ hybrids, to enhance  crop  productivity  and  ensure  food  and  nutritional  security  in  the  country. Development of varieties is a continuous process as per the mandate of the crop based institutes.

ICAR is mandated to produce breeder seed of all released and notified varieties as per  the  indents  received  from  Department  of  Agriculture,  Co-operation  and  Farmers Welfare, which in turn is converted to other classes of seeds viz., foundation and certified through multiplication by different agencies for availability to the farmers. Breeder seed indents  and  production  of  various  released  and  notified  varieties  under  the  AICRP  on NSP (Crops) during last four years is as under:-

| Year    |   Indent (q) |   Production (q) |
|---------|--------------|------------------|
| 2014-15 |      86292.2 |           100075 |
| 2015-16 |     122160   |           127823 |
| 2016-17 |     104046   |           122616 |
| 2017-18 |      98047.8 |           118666 |

(c) & (d): Yes,  Madam.    Under  the  different  schemes  of  Crop  Science  Division, ICAR,  the  budget  allocated/utilized  during  the  financial  years  2015-16,  2016-17  and 2017-18 is Rs. 48168.68 lakhs, Rs. 43420.89 lakhs and Rs. 36965.97 lakhs, respectively, whereas, during the current financial year (2018-19), total Budget Estimate (BE) is Rs. 191883 lakhs.

Since  2015,  total  of  850  stress  tolerant,  high  yielding,  improved  quality,  agroclimatic  zone  specific  varieties  have  been  developed  under  different  AICRPs  by  crop based ICAR Institutes and SAUs; which comprised of 447 of cereals, 128 of oilseeds, 121 of pulses, 72 of fibre crops, 53 of forage crops, 28 of sugarcane and 1 of other crop.

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