Consider Bihar's concerns over Seeds Bill: Nitish

• After raising objections to the permission given by the Centre for trials of Bt Maize in his State, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has now urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to pass the Seeds Bill in Parliament without taking into consideration the views and concerns of Bihar.
• "The proposed bill is not only anti-farmer but also brazenly favours multinationals in the garb of higher productivity. Any attempt to pass the bill in its present form will irrevocably damage Indian agriculture and make the goal of food security a distant dream," Mr. Kumar said.
• "The bill may, in fact, lose meaning if seeds are not available to farmers at affordable prices. With private companies, particularly multinationals, joining the field, cost becomes relevant. Our experience with private seed companies producing hybrid maize seeds underscores this," he said.
• "Our concern about rushing into the use of genetically modified [GM] crops without adequate safeguards is well-known. The proposed bill should lay down these safeguards explicitly. GM seeds should be registered only after extensive research to address concerns like adverse effects on biodiversity, ecology and human health, with dissemination of findings in the public domain. Seed imports should be allowed only after pest risk analysis and local adaptability assessment. There is a need for a Liability Clause to be introduced that makes seed exporters responsible for any pest outbreak and clean-up operations," Mr. Kumar said.
• He said that while public sector seeds were affordable, "the cost of private seeds runs into hundreds of rupees or even several thousands, in case of hybrid vegetable seeds." Besides, the provision of re-registration would increase the monopoly of seed companies for at least 20 years, he said, adding that the government should take responsibility for seed certification.
• Lamenting that no criterion had been laid for determining compensation to farmers for seed failure, Mr. Kumar said it should be fixed at the difference between the value of expected produce as per the seed producer's claim and the actual produce.He said there should be a time-limit for payment of compensation, and that the definition of farmers — as described in the National Commission on Farmers — should include landless farmers cultivating leasehold lands.
• Raising the issue of agriculture being a State subject, Mr. Kumar demanded a wider role for States in regulation."State governments should have the authority through the bill to fix the retail seed price and royalty charges. This is in light of the fact that apart from spurious seeds, it is also the high market price of seeds that contributes to the complex situation of the current agrarian distress, which results in farmers' suicides," he said.
• Mr. Kumar wanted all the powers of the Seeds Control Order of 1983— which will get nullified once the Seeds Bill is passed — to be incorporated in the proposed bill.