The Maharashtra government will formulate a comprehensive policy to ensure farmers have access to high-quality seeds, prevent losses caused by substandard and counterfeit seeds, and enhance transparency and accountability in seed production, storage, testing and sale, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane said on Wednesday.
Review meeting held
Bharane was speaking at a meeting held at Mantralaya to review changes in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for seed inspection and establish a revised accountability framework. Minister of State Adv. Ashish Jaiswal, several MLAs, Agriculture Secretary Parimal Singh, Agriculture Commissioner Suraj Mandhare, Mahabeej Managing Director Dr. Dileep Swami, Agriculture Director Sunil Borkar and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
The minister said the proposed policy aims to strengthen accountability for seed quality, boost farmers' confidence and improve every stage of the seed management system. It will include measures such as effective use of the Saathi Portal, QR code-based seed traceability, verification of source seeds, registration of private processing centres, mandatory submission of samples to government laboratories, faster testing of seed samples, transparent testing through e-lab and coded systems, adoption of modern methods such as the Grow-Out Test (GOT), and stricter inspection of seeds imported from other states.
Bharane said the policy would also provide for prompt action on farmers' complaints, greater transparency in the inspection process, stronger quality control mechanisms, and legal and administrative safeguards to protect farmers from losses caused by poor-quality seeds. He added that the government would study the suggestions and recommendations received from committee members and other stakeholders before finalising the policy, with farmers' interests remaining the top priority.
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