WHO BENEFITS FROM THE INDIAN SEED ACT?

Seeds encapsulate life and they act as a blue-print for plants that germinate from them.

With proper nurturing, a good seed can blossom into a beautiful tree. But how to we identify good seeds? Indian farmers have been aware of the importance of good quality seeds since ages and they used to keep aside a good part of their produce as seeds. But with big companies pouring millions of dollars in R&D in improving seed quality and hence the productivity of crops, it has become imperative for a third party inspector to audit the quality of seed being delivered to farmers.

To ensure farmers have access to good seeds and to prevent malpractices in seed sale and cheating of uninformed farmers, the Government of India passed the Seed Act in 1966. With the passage of this law, a seed inspector was appointed by the State Government for the verification of seed quality being sold. Moreover, anyone dealing in seeds can apply and get certification for the same by a certifying agency.

At Beforest, we lay strong stress on procuring good quality seeds and saplings and nurturing them properly to realize their full potential in our nurseries, across our collectives. Our endeavour is to fall back on native species which are common in the localities where our collectives are situated.

Nature is the most efficient researcher and implementer. With every passing generation, the plant tries to produce seeds that are more resilient and adapted to survive in the climate prevailing near the surroundings of the parent plant. Therefore, native varieties become sturdier for the given environment and it is also advisable to use them in that locality only. And, hence sowing native species forms one of the pillars of permaculture practices.