Parliament Question: Proposed Seeds Bill and its implication on farmers

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 822 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06/02/2026 PROPOSED SEEDS BILL AND ITS IMPLICATION ON FARMERS 822. DR. VIKRAMJIT SINGH SAHNEY: Will the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare be pleased to state: (a) whether Government is aware of the objections raised by farmer organisations and State Governments, including Punjab, regarding the proposed Seeds Bill and its implications for farmers’ traditional rights; (b) whether the Bill proposes mandatory seed registration and greater participation of private seed companies, if so, the safeguards envisaged to prevent exploitation of farmers; (c) whether consultations were held with Government of Punjab and farmer stakeholders prior to finalising the Bill, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the steps taken to address concerns of farmers in Punjab and to ensure protection of seed sovereignty and farm livelihoods? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a): Yes, Sir. The Government is aware of the representations and objections received from farmer organisations and State Governments, including Punjab, regarding the draft Seeds Bill and its implications for farmers’ traditional rights. These concerns have been duly examined during the consultative process. (b): The draft Bill provides for mandatory registration of seed varieties sold in the market to regulate the quality of seeds for sale, import and export by both public and private entities. At the same time, the draft Bill proposes several safeguards to prevent exploitation of farmers, including: i. explicit protection of farmers’ rights to grow, sow, re-sow, save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds of registered varieties; ii. exemption of farmers from penal provisions when seeds produced on their own holdings are sold or exchanged;iii. mandatory onboarding on the Centralised Seed Traceability Portal, which is intended to strengthen transparency and accountability and help protect farmers from spurious or sub-standard seeds; iv. application of nationally prescribed quality standards to all categories of seeds, including labelled seeds; v. provision for regulation of seed sale prices under emergent situations; and vi. rationalised penalties to act as a deterrent against the sale of spurious seeds. (c): Yes, extensive consultations have been held with farmers’ groups, seed experts, industry associations and State Governments, including the Government of Punjab. The draft Seeds Bill was also placed in the public domain as part of the pre-legislative consultation process, and over 14,000 suggestions, comments and observations have been received and examined. (d): The draft Bill focuses on strengthening seed quality regulation and includes exemptions for farmers, traditional varieties and farmers’ varieties. The combined effect of statutory protection of farmers’ rights, strengthened quality assurance measures, and traceability-based accountability mechanisms is intended to support seed sovereignty, protect farmers’ livelihoods and mitigate risks associated with sub-standard seeds. Suggestions received from stakeholders, including the State of Punjab, have been examined and due procedure as prescribed is to be followed for finalisation of the Bill. *****