KTR calls draft Seeds Bill anti-farmer, demands withdrawal

KTR sharply criticised the Centre’s draft Seeds Bill, calling it anti-farmer and pro-corporate. He said the Bill weakens States, lacks safeguards against fake seeds, offers no compensation guarantees and risks seed sovereignty. The BRS has sought its withdrawal and wider consultations

Hyderabad: Strongly opposing the Centre’s draft Seeds Bill, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday termed it anti-farmer and pro-corporate. He warned that the proposed legislation strips States of their powers, ignores farmer welfare and tilts the balance in favour of big seed companies, saying it would not serve farmers’ interests.

He demanded that the Centre immediately withdraw the draft Bill and bring fresh legislation only after thorough consultations with farmers’ organisations, seed experts, agricultural scientists and all political parties. He said the BRS would soon organise a round-table meeting under the leadership of former Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy and MP B Vinod Kumar to prepare additional suggestions for the Centre.

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“This Bill places corporate interests above farmers’ welfare. It must be stopped in its tracks,” he said, adding that any new seed law must prioritise farmers and be founded on farmer welfare and seed sovereignty. He said the Bill in its current form takes away the authority of State governments in seed regulation and price control, effectively centralising all powers with the union government and weakening the federal structure on an important State subject.

He said the draft lacks clarity on curbing fake and sub-standard seeds and offers no guarantee of timely and adequate compensation to farmers who suffer crop losses due to defective seeds. Companies manufacturing spurious seeds face virtually no accountability while responsibility is shifted to dealers and the supply chain. There are no provisions for nationwide blacklisting of erring companies or for imposing heavy fines and jail terms. Farmers who save, exchange and reuse their own seeds receive no legal protection under the proposed law. Foreign companies can sell seeds in India without rigorous multi-location trials, he said, posing risks to national seed security and seed sovereignty.

He said provisions in the draft allow seed companies to dictate prices, stripping States of their existing power to regulate seed costs. Rama Rao stressed that the Centre must drop attempts to prioritise ease of doing business at the expense of farmers and instead bring in a transparent Bill with strict penalties and jail terms for companies producing spurious seeds, along with mandatory compensation to affected farmers based on maximum potential yield per acre within a fixed timeframe, and protection for farmers’ traditional seed-saving practices.

He also insisted on retaining States’ rights to frame laws suited to local agro-climatic conditions and on mandatory multi-location trials for all new varieties, including those from foreign companies. He said the BRS had already submitted detailed feedback and suggested amendments to the Centre, focusing on seed sovereignty, biosafety and preventing corporate dominance.

“The Centre cannot ride roughshod over farmers in the name of reforms. Agriculture is a State subject, and any legislation that undermines States and farmers while favouring corporations will be vehemently opposed by the BRS,” he added.