The Rs 10,000-crore seed industry has asked the Union Government to make seed technology licences available to more companies.
It wants the Centre to prepare the eligibility criteria for seed firms in order to make them qualify for getting the licences and stay in business.
At present, the seed firms are required to pay exorbitant licence fee to get genetically-modified technologies (such as Bollgard of Mahyco-Monsanto).
This prohibitive cost to acquire technology is forcing several small and medium companies out of business. Some of them either went out of business or became dealers or representatives of bigger companies.
“The Government can probably prescribe a fee so that most of them will get a licence and survive,” M. Prabhakara Rao, the newly-elected President of National Seeds Association of India (NSAI), told Business Line.
transparency
On the ongoing controversy over GM crops, he said that there has been a perception challenge.
“They fear that there are hidden dangers. The industry and farmers need to understand this and make an effort to change this negative perception. We should be able to tell them that we can use such technologies that have already been in vogue elsewhere,” he said.
A transparent regulatory mechanism would solve the problem to a great extent.
“Interested parties should be allowed (to have a look at field trials). Majority of the problems will be solved through debate. One must realise that it is good for the country to have better technologies to increase productivity, yields and incomes for farmers,” Prabhakara Rao, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of NSL group, said.
“There are abundant opportunities in South Asia, South-East Asia and Africa. We will create awareness among the seed producers about these opportunities and help them in tapping such markets,” the NSAI President said.