Seed Bill 2025 Faces Backlash: Farmers Say It “Supports Corporations, Not Cultivators”

Key Highlights:

• Bill aims to curb fake seeds and improve quality.

• Farmers fear corporate bias and loss of traditional varieties.

• No simple compensation system for faulty seeds.

• Heavy digital compliance may burden small farmers.

• Foreign seed entry through the VCU loophole raises concerns.

The Indian government has released the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025, aiming to overhaul the outdated Seeds Act, 1966, and the Seed Control Order, 1983. The government claims the new law will help curb counterfeit seeds, improve seed quality, and offer better safeguards to farmers.

However, farmer groups, experts, and civil society organisations argue that the Bill is more beneficial to seed companies and large agribusinesses than to small cultivators, especially those who follow traditional and organic farming methods.

Seed expert Bharat Mansata, from the Bharat Beej Swaraj Manch, stated that the proposed law “seems to be more for the benefit of seed companies and agri-business rather than for common farmers, especially farmers preferring traditional seeds to farm organically without chemical inputs”.

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What the Draft Seeds Bill, 2025, Proposes

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare says the Bill is designed to regulate an increasingly complex seed market and limit financial losses caused by low-quality seeds. Key features include:

1. Mandatory Registration of Seed Varieties

All seed varieties must be registered before sale. Only traditional farmers’ varieties and seeds meant exclusively for export are exempt.

• Varieties must undergo Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) testing across multiple locations.

• Seeds can be sold only if they meet minimum germination and purity standards.

2. Stronger Market Controls and Full Traceability

• Seed dealers and distributors must obtain state registration certificates to sell, import, or export seeds.

• Every seed container must carry a QR code, issued through the government’s Seed Traceability Portal, for full tracking from production to sale.

3. Easier Recognition for Big Companies

The Bill introduces a Central Accreditation System, allowing nationally accredited companies to gain approval across all states automatically. Critics say this disproportionately favours large corporations.

4. Heavy Penalties for Violations

• Minor offences such as selling sub-standard seeds or failing to update details on the SATHI portal will attract fines starting at ₹1 lakh.

• Major offences such as selling unregistered or spurious seeds may lead to fines up to ₹30 lakh and imprisonment of up to three years.

5. Farmers Rights Protected—With Limits

The Bill says farmers can grow, sow, save, re-sow, exchange, share, and sell farm-saved seeds.
However, they cannot sell seeds under any brand name.
Both central and state-level seed committees will oversee implementation.

Why Farmers and Activists Are Concerned

Critics say the Bill has several gaps that may harm small farmers and undermine India’s traditional seed diversity.

1. No Easy Way for Farmers to Seek Compensation

Farmers affected by poor-quality seeds will still need to file cases in court to claim compensation.

Given the time, money, and legal support required, many small farmers may never receive justice. Critics argue that the Bill fails to create a simple, farmer-friendly system for compensation.

2. Community Seed Keepers Left Out

While individual farmers can save and share seeds, community groups such as:

• Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)

• Women-led seed collectives

• Traditional seed-saving networks

will be treated as commercial entities.

This means they must follow the same bureaucratic rules, digital paperwork, and compliance requirements as large companies.

Experts warn this could undermine India’s vast network of grassroots seed conservation groups.

Mansata cautions that the Bill, combined with proposed changes to international and national biodiversity agreements such as ITPGRFA and PPVFRA, could “effectively legalise biopiracy of our rich genetic heritage”.

3. Favouring Corporations and Increasing Digital Burden

VCU trials, critics say, naturally favour uniform hybrid seeds, which are mostly developed by big corporations.

Traditional, diverse, and climate-resilient seed varieties may not meet these standardised conditions and could slowly exit the formal seed market.

The Bill also brings heavy digital requirements, such as:

• QR code tracking

• Online submissions

• Real-time monitoring

These could create new barriers for rural seed keepers who may have limited internet access or lack digital skills.

4. Loophole Allowing Foreign Seeds into India

The Bill allows foreign organisations to be recognised for conducting VCU tests. Critics say this could open a path for genetically modified or patented seeds to enter India without rigorous checks by Indian authorities.

Mansata warns that if genetically engineered or gene-edited seeds enter India without strict evaluation, “the hazards posed to human and ecosystem health would greatly multiply; and small farmers would be rendered even more vulnerable”.

He also warns of severe social consequences, stating: “Farmer suicides may then become an epidemic with a far greater toll than Covid, yet our farmers are being treated as disposable.”

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CMV360 Says

The Draft Seeds Bill, 2025, aims to modernise India’s seed sector by introducing stricter regulations, better traceability, and stronger penalties. However, farmer groups and experts believe the Bill leans heavily in favour of seed corporations and could create new challenges for small farmers, community seed groups, and traditional seed conservation practices.

While the government claims the law will improve seed quality and protect cultivators, critics insist that without farmer-friendly compensation systems, safeguards for indigenous seeds, and limits on corporate influence, the Bill may harm the very people it aims to support.