Agency fights spurious seed scourge

Bengaluru: For a farmer, the difference between a bumper harvest and a season of ruin often lies in a single factor, the quality of the seed. In Karnataka, the job of ensuring this quality is on the Karnataka State Seed and Organic Certification Agency (KSSOCA). In the 2024-25 season, KSSOCA registered 75,464 hectares of land and certified over 11.95 lakh quintals of seeds.

Established in 1974 and headquartered in Hebbal, the agency has evolved from a traditional seed-vetting body into a multi-faceted organisation that now spearheads the state’s ambitious push toward organic and natural farming.

Chairperson (KSSOCA) Lavanya Ballal Jain told DH, “A good quality seed should possess high percent of germination, vigour, genetically and physically pure and should be free from seed borne diseases and insect damage.”

“To ensure high seed quality, certification is necessary for quality control of seed multiplication and production. The purpose is to secure, maintain and make available certain prescribed standards of genetic identity and purity, physical purity, physiological quality and seed health, she added.

“The seed certification facilitates international trade and benefits farmers by quality produce and by using globally-recognised labels,” Lavanya said.

Seed to certified seed

“Seed certification is voluntary but vital,” explains a senior official at KSSOCA. The process is rigorous. Whether it is the Karnataka State Seeds Corporation (KSSC), the National Seeds Corporation (NSC), or private producers, any entity wishing to sell “certified seeds” must pass through KSSOCA’s three-stage testing including field and lab standards. 

“We will inspect the farmers in critical stages of the crop growth to meet our field standards for producing good quality seeds. The major crop seeds we receive for certification include cereals such as rice, ragi, and jowar; pulses like Bengal gram and pigeon pea; oilseeds including groundnut and soya; and sun hemp in the fiber category,” the official said.

Once the crop is harvested, bulk quantities enter into the processing units for processing under the supervision of the agency.

In order to meet the lab standards KSSOCA inspectors will draw the sample for analysis of germination, physical purity and moisture test and send it to the seed testing laboratory and results declared by the STL.

“Once the lot passes in the field and lab standards seed certification labels will be issued and release order will be given to the producers for commercial sale,” the official said.

Market access and fair pricing

For the farmer, the benefit is twofold. First, they are protected from stunted crops or germination failure. Second, through a rate contract system, the government procures these certified seeds via tenders and distributes them back to farmers through Raitha Samparka Kendras (RSK) at subsidised rates.

Challenges: germination and counterfeits

The agency’s primary challenge remains stunted growth and dissimilarities in seeds. By maintaining the SATHI Portal (Seed Authenticity, Traceability and Holistic Inventory), KSSOCA is now moving all certification online to track every bag of seed from the lab to the land, curbing the menace of counterfeit seeds that often fail to sprout.

Farmers interested in seed certification or organic certification can reach out to the Karnataka State Seed and Organic Certification Agency, Opposite Baptist Hospital, Bellary Road, Hebbal, Phone: [phone]. Website: kssoca.karnataka.gov.in