Covid spread in rural India: Seed manufacturers don’t see drop in sales

Commenting on the current initiative of the federal government to broaden space beneath oilseeds by distributing excessive yielding seeds to farmers freed from price, Kaundinya stated: “Although it’s good {that a} minimal yield standards has been mounted, it’s equally essential to have in mind varieties having greater oil content material. There have to be a mechanism discovered to pay greater costs of oilseeds varieties with greater oil content material.”

Amid worry for a slowdown in sowing since rural India has been affected by the second wave of Covid pandemic, the Rs 20,000-crore home seed business is hopeful of regular yr as there was no report of decrease gross sales of seeds of agricultural crops to this point.

“There’s some concern from enter sellers due to Covid and lock down. However state of affairs isn’t alarming as provides are taking place, although not free-flowing. Farmers won’t ever cease sowing, no matter be the state of affairs, supplied they get seeds in time,” stated Ram Kaundinya, director normal of Federation of Seed Business of India (FSII). There isn’t a slowdown in demand for seeds for the upcoming kharif season, Kaundinya stated.

The seed business has been rising at common 9% (CAGR), earlier than the expansion marginally declined to about 8% final yr attributable to pandemic and in addition some shifting seen in maize space. The vegetable seeds gross sales declined in final kharif season, however it picked up by rabi season as lockdown restrictions eliminated regularly, creating demand.

Thus far, seeds have reached a lot of the locations as monsoon is predicted to reach subsequent week. Farmers have began buying seeds in a lot of the crops throughout the nation, although cotton seeds gross sales in Punjab and Haryana are already over.

Within the turnover of seeds business, vegetable seeds contribute most having 30% share, adopted by cotton with about 18%, maize 13% and paddy 10%.

There’s additionally ample availability of agricultural labour in some states attributable to reverse migration whereas there could also be labour points in western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Nevertheless, as farmers within the northern area use agri equipment in comparison with different states, there is probably not a problem.

“If the Covid-19 state of affairs begins enhancing and the factor of worry is checked by a decrease variety of instances and better vaccination, the kharif sowing operations will not be prone to have an effect on adversely,” former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain stated on Monday. Monsoon will hit northwest solely in early July, by then the wave is prone to subside, Hussain stated.

Commenting on the current initiative of the federal government to broaden space beneath oilseeds by distributing excessive yielding seeds to farmers freed from price, Kaundinya stated: “Although it’s good {that a} minimal yield standards has been mounted, it’s equally essential to have in mind varieties having greater oil content material. There have to be a mechanism discovered to pay greater costs of oilseeds varieties with greater oil content material.”

Forward of kharif sowing of crops to start from June 1, the Centre has set a goal to convey an extra 6,37,000 hectare beneath oilseeds cultivation this season itself, and rolled out a long-term plan to make the nation self-sufficient in edible oils. Final yr, oilseeds had been sown in 20.82 million hectare in the course of the kharif season and eight million hectare within the rabi (winter) season.

From bringing extra space beneath oilseeds, the nation’s oilseeds manufacturing could go up by 1.2 million tonne (MT), sufficient to generate 2,44,000 tonne of edible oils by home processing.