Overview
- Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called a high-level consultation with senior leaders of major farmer organisations, scheduled for Thursday, September 10 at Krishi Bhawan in New Delhi.
- The session will bring national groups such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, multiple Bharatiya Kisan Union factions and the All India Kisan Coordination Committee together with state-level farmer bodies from Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Kerala.
- The draft law would replace the 1966 Seed Act and introduce end-to-end traceability, including QR codes on seed packets, to track producers and distributors through the supply chain.
- Officials say the bill would impose steep penalties on sellers of fake or substandard seed, with reports of fines up to Rs 30 lakh and possible imprisonment, and would also include provisions to protect farmers’ rights over traditional seeds.
- The government positions this meeting as the final stakeholder round before the bill is finalised for the upcoming Parliament session, but officials will face practical challenges enforcing new rules across India’s diverse and fragmented seed market.