Dissemination Processes

After the release of a variety there are two main activities which, together make up the dissemination phase - seed production and extension. While plant breeders have an active and direct role in at least some of the stages of seed production, they have a more indirect role in extension.

Once a variety has been notified in the National Gazette the process of seed production can begin. Seed production is an important aspect of any crop improvement programme. It is at this stage that the benefits of novel varieties can be scaled-up and disseminated to farmers.

For farmers to gain the benefits of novel varieties they must receive seed that has a high genetic purity and that of good quality. Genetic purity and seed quality are dependent on the biological, physical and technical factors along the seed chain (Kadam, 1942).

Table 14 - Seed Classes

Class Description Producer / Supervisor

Nucleus seed Cent per cent genetically and physically pure seed. Quantity of available nucleus seed is in kg.

Concerned plant breeder

Breeder’s seed

Progeny of nucleus seed. Same levels of purity monitored by breeder and a committee. Breeder’s seed is that which is multiplied up for use by seed producing agencies.

Concerned plant breeder or sponsoring institute. Quality is monitored by state or central government organization.

Foundation seed

Progeny of breeder’s seed. It has genetic purity >98%. Foundation seed is purchased by Seed

Corporation from seed growers.

Foundation seed can again be multiplied by the Seed Corporation in the events of it s shortage with similar seed certification standard.

Recognised seed producing agencies (public/private) i.e. government farms or private seed producers.

Quality assessed by seed certification agency.

Certified seed Progeny of foundation seed produced by registered seed growers under the supervision of the Seed Certification Agency.

Registered seed growers.

Source: (Yasin et al., 2006)

Seed multiplication is a graduated affair which results in different classes of seed being produced. Table 14 lists the major classes of seeds and their descriptions. With respect to scaling up the quantity of seed available to farmers, the concerned plant breeder is responsible for and involved in the generation of nucleus and breeders seed. The process of producing nucleus and breeder’s seed each season is managed by each state through coordination with the relevant SAUs and AICRPs, and the state extension systems.

The process of producing seed for farmers is subject to a degree of lag brought about by having to scale up small quantities of nucleus and breeder seed to meet the seed demand of farmers across a larger area, i.e. the state. This seed multiplication process in the Indian context is referred to as a seed rolling plan, as represented graphically in Figure 9. The nature of multiplying seed means that there is inevitably a four to five year delay, depending on the crop type, between receiving a seed demand assessment and producing the required amount of seed.

Figure 9 - Entry of Seed Chain into Seed Rolling Plan

Source: (Yasin et al., 2006)

Key: The diagram represents a ‘seed rolling plan’ in which any seed demand assessment will take four to five years to reach farmers.

The lag between receiving a seed demand assessment and producing the required amount of seed means that the amount of seed produced is only an estimate of the actual demand at that particular time. There are numerous intercalated and co-dependent factors that affect the demand, production and supply of seed. While they are all relevant to the supply of appropriate seed; at this juncture I shall only discuss a few issues that are of greater importance to plant breeding.

In the case of Madhya Pradesh (MP) the seed rolling plan in its current format is characterised by numerous problems. Demand for seed can vary for a number of reasons which are difficult to predict accurately – two such examples of this would be issues such as fluctuating market prices, and the late collection of seed demand data from farmers by Agricultural Officers (AOs) so that this information may be unavailable when needed. Inaccuracies inherent in capturing and forecasting seed demand, coupled with the inability to accurately determine the yield gaps and shortfall of certified seed at the end of the seed production system, suggests that it is difficult for plant breeders to gauge true farmer demand for their varieties from the breeder seed indent. Breeder seed indent however remains the main way for plant breeders to indirectly assess the popularity of their varieties across the state and India.

Embedded within the concept of seed multiplication and dissemination is the agronomic concept of Seed Replacement Rate (SRR). SRR is the percentage of certified seed of a crop sown in an area out of the total area planted under that crop. A high SRR suggests that new certified seed is grown in the total cultivated area for that crop, whereas a low SRR indicates the opposite. Scientists may blame low SRR figures on a failure of agricultural extension along with the illiteracy and poverty of farmer demographics as factors contributing to a low SRR (Yasin et al, 2006).

What the SRR figures cannot explain is whether low SRR is due to inefficiencies in the crop improvement and seed multiplication chains; ineffectual extension; or whether the suitability of the crop varieties and associated packages of practices themselves are at fault. This

ambiguity and inability to ascribe a principle causal factor to low SRR and adoption rates allows for a situation in which researchers can blame the delivery of the research product or the nature of the farmers themselves as reasons why adoption of new varieties is low; rather than the potentially less palatable notion that it may be their research which is not appropriate for certain farming systems or farmer demographics. After all, the new varieties have passed through a rigorous scientific testing regime; albeit one that has very little direct involvement of farmers.