Proceedings Report on

“Indian Seed Congress” Date: 18-19th February, 2014 Venue: Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar

Organized by Supported by Event Partner

2

CONTENTS

About the Conference .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Inaugural Ceremony ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Technical Sessions and Panel Discussions ......................................................................................................... 4

Technical Session 1 - Indian Seed Industry – Status Report ................................................. 4

Technical Session 2: Panel Discussion - Is harmonization of seed regulation among states

and between states - center possible? .............................................................................. 4

Technical Session 3 - Globalization of Indian Seed Business ............................................... 5

Technical Session 4 - Emerging trends in Indian agriculture and their impact on seed

industry ........................................................................................................................... 5

3

About the Conference

The seed industry has been an integral partner in the exercise of accelerating agricultural

growth in the country. The organized seed sector’s contribution in the form of making

available quality seeds at affordable prices to our farmers, is well recognized. The science

driven seed industry of today, with appropriated policy support from the government, is

capable of providing solutions of every problem been faced in improving the agriculture

sector. Indian seed industry, which ranks sixth in the global seed business is poised to take a

leadership role with its dynamic, innovative and internationally competitive research and

processing infrastructure.

Indian Seed Congress 2014 (ISC’14), the fifth edition of the mega industry event, was

organized on 18 – 19th February, 2014 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhi Nagar in the vibrant state

of Gujarat. Organized by National Seed Association of India (NSAI), the event had the theme

of “Seeds for vibrant agriculture”.

More than 750 seedsmen from across the country and from other major seed economies in

the Asian region and beyond 12 nations, besides scientists; students; farmers and farmer

leaders; and policy makers, participated in this biggest event of the seed sector.

Inaugural Ceremony

The Indian Seed Congress 2014 was inaugurated by Prof. Y.K. Alagh, Former Union Minister

for Power and Science & Technology at the Conference Hall of Mahatma Mandir in the

presence of a large gathering.

Prof. Swapan Datta, Deputy Director General (Crop Sciences), Indian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR), presided over the Inauguration. After a warm welcome accorded by Mr. M.

Prabhakar Rao, President, NSAI and Mr. N.P. Patel, President, Gujarat Seed Producers’

Association (GSPA), Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Director General, CIMMYT (International Wheat

& Maize Improvement Centre), Mexico presented the ISC’14 ‘Key Note Address’ on the

subject ‘BISA – CIMMYT and the Indian Seed Industry’. This informative and thought

provoking Key Note Address was followed by a presentation on ‘Gujarat Seed Industry: Pioneer

in Seed Technology & Production’ by Dr. D.B. Desai, Vice President of GSPA.

The Inauguration also included felicitation of Dr. D.B. Desai and Mr. Rajjubhai Shroff,

Chairman, UPL Group, by NSAI, for their life time contributions to the growth of the Indian

seed industry. Dr. Manish Patel, Convener of ISC’14 also spoke at the Inauguration. The

dignitaries participating in the Inaugural also included Mr. Raj Kumar, IAS, Principal

Secretary (Agriculture), Govt. of Gujarat and Mr. Bhupen Dubey, General Secretary, NSAI.

4

The Guests also inaugurated the ‘Exhibition’, where nearly fifty companies from seed and

allied sectors showcased their latest products and services, and the ‘Trading Tables’, where

significant business development was carried out by the participating seed companies.

Technical Sessions and Panel Discussions

Technical Session 1 - Indian Seed Industry – Status Report

List of Speakers:

Name Organization Designation

Dr. Swapan Kumar Dutta

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Director General

Mr. M. Prabhakar Rao

Nuziveedu Seeds, Hyderabad Group Chairman

Mr. Sirish Barwale Mahyco Wholetime Director

Mr. Mukund Karwa Krishidhan Seeds Director

Dr. Dhiraj Pant Monsanto Director – Regulatory Affairs

The session was chaired by Prof. Swapan Datta, Director General of ICAR. Topics including

field crop seed business in India, potential for growth in vegetable growth and a perspective

of SME of Indian seed Industry.

Technical Session 2: Panel Discussion - Is harmonization of seed regulation among

states and between states - center possible?

5

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Prabhakar Rao, President, NSAI. The resource

faculty in the conference included eminent scientists and senior industry professionals. The

subjects discussed in the conference focused on the potential for development of Indian seed

industry, prospects of garnering a larger share of the global seed trade and possible impact

of the international legislations and treaties and the new advances in seed science and

technology. The perspectives of the MNCs as well as SME sector were reflected in the

presentations.

Technical Session 3 - Globalization of Indian Seed Business

List of Speakers:

Name Organization

Mr. M. Shyamsunder Singh Pioneer Seeds, Hyderabad

Mr. Ram Kaundinya Advanta Seeds, Hyderabad

Mr. Avtar Singh Dhindsa Beauscape Farms, Ludhiana

Mr. Rajvir Rathi Bayer, Gurgaon

The third technical session of the conference revolved around the MNC view of Indian seed

industry, India as a seed Production hub and emerging international treaties and Indian

legislation governing seed business.

Technical Session 4 - Emerging trends in Indian agriculture and their impact on seed

industry

6

List of Speakers:

Name Organization Designation

Mr. Mukul Varshney John Deere India Pvt Ltd Director - Corporate Affairs

Dr. Monique Van Wordragen

INCOTEC Manager, International Technology Research

Dr. Arjen Van Tunen KeyGene Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Mangesh Kulkarni Ingram Micro India Ltd Product Executive

The fourth technical session was focused on the trends in Indian agriculture. The speakers

analyzed the impact of these trends on Indian seed industry. The advances in seed handling

and quality management were discussed in detail. The session was concluded with a glimpse

of an investor’s perspective of agribusiness in India.

Post Congress tours were organized to facilities of seed production and technology. A ‘CEO

Conclave’ organized as a Pre Congress event included presentations on way forward for the

seed industry based on sharing of success stories by senior industry professionals and

experts; and motivational / inspirational lectures. The ISC’14 participants also enjoyed the

interesting entertainment programmes depicting Gujarat and national culture.

7