Soyabean yield may be hit by seed shortage

The shortage of certified and quality soyabean seeds, triggered by last year’s poor production has raised concerns for the forthcoming kharif season in Madhya Pradesh, the key oilseed producing State. The soyabean processing industry fears that the yields may get affected due to the lower availability of quality and certified seeds.

The Agriculture Ministry has pegged the shortage of certified and quality soyabean seeds at 69,616 tonnes across the country. The Ministry has assessed the total requirement for the forthcoming kharif season at 3.43 lakh tonnes, whereas the availability is estimated at 2.73 lakh tonnes, according to official sources. Terming the seed shortage as a matter of concern, Rajesh Agarwal, spokesperson for the Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India, said it would be difficult to assess the availability of quality seeds. The lower-than-expected crop last year due to excess rainfall also affected the quality of the produce, resulting in shortage of quality seeds.

“Nothing much can be done mid-season to boost supplies. Though efforts are being made to produce soyabean seeds during the offseason, i.e., during summer months, the outcome in the past has not been encouraging,” Agarwal said.

The Madhya Pradesh Seeds Corporation and the National Seeds Corporation are reportedly engaged in off-season production of seeds. A possible option that the Government is exploring is to rationalise the seed replacement ratio (SRR). The Government believes that the SRR, which stood at 51 per cent during kharif 2013 can be reduced to 33 per cent during the forthcoming season to make sure a larger section of farmers can access quality seeds. However, lack of adequate certified and quality seeds will impact productivity, fears Agarwal.

The Government also proposes to carry out an awareness campaign among farmers to make good use of own or farm-saved seeds. Farmers are still holding back a substantial chunk of their produce, anticipating higher price. They are expecting to cash in on concerns over bad weather impacting production in key producing countries such as Brazil and the US.

“So far, only about half the soyabean produced during the last kharif season have arrived in the markets. Farmers seem to be waiting for clarity on the monsoon amid concerns over the emergence of El Nino to bring their produce to the markets,” Agarwal said.

Poor arrivals have hit the soyabean crushing resulting in 17 per cent decline in exports of soyameal despite strong demand and better prices from buyers such as Iran and Japan among others.

Soyabean production was estimated lower at 12 million tonnes on excess rains and prices are currently ruling at a high between ₹ 4,200-4,500 a quintal in markets such as Nagpur, Indore and Kota.

COMMENT NOW