Health standard for seeds on cards

The agriculture ministry plans to set a standard to ensure that only infection-free seeds make their way to farmers.

“We already have some standards to ensure the quality of seeds. But, as we become self-sufficient in seeds, we need to ensure that they are free from infection,” said Anwar Faruque, director general of the agriculture ministry's seed wing.

The ministry has formed a panel to set health standards for seeds of four crops -- rice, wheat, potato and jute.

The panel has submitted its draft proposal, which is under review by a technical committee of the National Seed Board.

Faruque, however, said it will take time to formulate the standard. The initiative comes as the seed market is growing due to massive marketing campaigns by private companies and the shift towards commercial farming by farmers for higher incomes.

Apart from the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, more than 100 firms, including some non-governmental organisations, sell seeds, mainly hybrids of rice, maize, vegetables and spice, through thousands of their dealers.

At present, the market for quality seeds is worth more than Tk 1,000 crore a year, according to insiders.

Despite the expansion of the market, the issue of the health of seeds has remained unaddressed for a long time.

Marketers have to ensure quality in three parameters -- purity, germination and moisture -- to sell seeds to growers.

But in the absence of a health standard, it still remains unknown whether the seeds that are reaching the farmers are free from diseases.

In many instances, seeds carrying pathogens make their way to the farmers' fields, causing losses.

“It is necessary to frame a seed health standard to control the seed-borne diseases. It will increase productivity and reduce the risk of losses of farmers,” said Md Azim Uddin, chief seed technologist at the agriculture ministry.

He cited the late blight of potatoes, black points of wheat and bakanae of rice as examples of diseases transmitted through pathogens carried by the seeds.

The health standard will also widen the export potential of seeds, he added.

FH Ansarey, executive director of the agribusiness division of ACI Ltd, said farmers will get better quality seeds if the health standard is set.

“It is important -- farm productivity will rise.”

The move will also be good for the private sector as those who provide substandard seeds will have to raise their game or be squeezed out of the market.

Operators said the private seed companies and traders have more than 90 percent stakes in the hybrid segment of seeds for maize, vegetables and spices, mainly because of the expansion of hybrid cultivation.

Overall, the industry will grow: it will open new business avenues for those who provide quality seeds, Ansarey added.