NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture has criticised the provision in The Seeds Bill, 2004, that provides for ``provisional registration/clearance for two years'' for transgenic (genetically modified seeds) irrespective of such a clearance under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The Government proposes to allow provisional registration merely on the basis of the information furnished by the seed company.

In its 22nd report, the panel has rejected the idea saying this would bring untested seeds and genetically engineered food crops into the market through ``the backdoor.'' Also, since the transgenic seeds cannot be released for commercial cultivation without the approval of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, provisional registration/clearance should not be allowed. ``This proviso to Clause (15) 1 in the Seeds Act should be deleted,'' the committee headed by Ram Gopal Yadav has said.

After examining the Bill, which seeks to replace the Seeds Act of 1966, the committee has unravelled a lot of provisions that favoured the seeds companies against the farmers in terms of unscrupulous trading in seeds in the private sector, permitting self-certification to certified private seed companies, no check on arbitrary pricing of seeds, dilution of penalties for sale of spurious seeds, no structured provision for compensation to farmers for failed seeds, no provision for insurance against failed yield and the sweeping powers given to inspectors to enter and search any farmers' premises.

The panel felt that the seed legislation should address the issue of promoting sale of newly developed varieties of seeds and at the same time ensure that the interest of the farmers and the sustainability of agriculture were not jeopardised.

It said the Seed Bill should not undermine the farmers/primary conserver friendly provisions of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PPV and FR) Act, 2001 and the Bio-diversity Act, 2002.

To that effect, the committee has recommended that the PPV and FR Act, 2001, be made fully operative first, before passing the Bill, to ensure harmony between the two.

The Bill seeks to address the issues regarding the sale of newly developed material, while keeping intact the interest of the farmers and sustainability of agriculture. It exempts farmers from registration of their seeds in certain cases but maintains that even their traditional seeds should conform to the standards set by the Central Seed Committee.

Very importantly the Bill protects and recognises the traditional rights of farmers to produce, use, save, sell, exchange, share or sell seeds and planting material with the rider that farmers whose seeds do not conform to the minimum limits of germination, physical purity and genetic purity would constitute a `violation' of the Act. The Committee has held that this rider-provision would infringe upon the rights of the farmers and has recommended that it be removed from the Bill.

The panel wants the government to play a major role in the seed sector and not allow it to be marginalised for commercial gains of private seed companies.

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