1. The Seed Industry in Pakistan
Regulation, Politics and
Entrepreneurship
Ahsan Rana
September 2013

2. Historical Development
Four distinct phases:
• 1947 – 1950s
– Small scale R&D; focus on a few crops
• 1950s – mid 1970s
– State-led development of an elaborate network of
research institutes, extension departments and
supplies agencies
• Mid 1970s – mid 1990s
– Legal and institutional development; growth in public
sector infrastructure for seed provision
• Mid 1990s – to date
– Growth of the private sector; shift of several seed
supply functions to seed companies

3. The Size and Structure
• Pakistan has a large seed industry*
– Estimated at US$ 845 million in 2008-09
– Potentially US$ 1.56 billion if 100% seed is replaced
• Seed provided by a mix of public and private
sector
• Variety development still mainly in the public
sector; but private sector is now the lead player
in seed multiplication, import and distribution
*Source: Hussain 2011

4. Certified Seed (2011-12)
Crop Total seed
requirement
(metric ton)
Certified seed
as proportion
of total
requirement
Private sector’s
share of total
certified seed
Imported seed
as a proportion
of total
certified seed
Wheat 1,085,400 24 72 -
Rice 42,480 81 86 22
Maize 31,914 39 98 85
Cotton 40,000 14 100 -
Potato 372,725 1 98 97
Pulses 47,496 3 72 -
Oilseeds 10,582 12 95 85
Vegetables 5,070 108 100 94
Fodder 40,138 33 100 100
Source: Data from Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD)

5. Certified Seed (Contd.)
• Certified seed only about 20% of the total requirement
• Certified seed is provided by:
– Private companies
– State seed corporations
• NGOs and farmers’ cooperatives provide a negligibly
small volume in Pakistan.
• Share of certified seed gradually growing for most
crops:
1995-96 2011-12
Wheat 8% 24%
Rice 6% 81%
Maize 10% 39%
Source: FSC&RD data and Salam 2012

6. Private Seed Companies
• 755 registered seed companies
– 5 are multinational
• Monsanto, Pioneer, Bayer, ICI and Syngenta
• None has a significant local R&D program
• Mostly import hybrid seed of maize, sunflower, fodder, canola,
alfalfa and sorghum
– 750 are national
• 82% located in Punjab, but also serve other provinces
• Most established during the last two decades
• Number still growing (418 new companies registered during
2005-13)
• Now also into variety development: 10 out of 17 Bt cotton
varieties developed by national seed companies
• Horizontal and vertical integration taking place
• Financing from a variety of sources

7. The Informal Sector
• Around 80% of the seed is provided by the informal sector
comprising:
– Private seed companies
– Breeders
– Farmers
• For cotton, their respective shares in Sindh province in 2012
were:*
– Formal sector – 14%
• All provided by seed companies
– Informal sector - 86%
*Source: Rana et al. 2012
Seed
companies
69%
Breeders
15%
Other
farmers
8%
Farmer-saved
seed
6%
Others
2%

8. The Informal Sector (Contd.)
• Very large informal sector mainly due to the
archaic legal framework
– Bureaucratic and lengthy procedures
– Variety registration or seed certification add little
value to seed business
– Weak enforcement of seed laws
• Consequently, companies often market their new
varieties without registering them with FSC&RD
– Such seed often sold under company label
– Brand names have started to emerge
– Uncertified seed is not necessarily of poor quality

9. The Legal Framework
• Seed sector regulated by the Seed Act of 1976
– Does not provide for registration of seed companies
– Envisages minimal role for the private sector
– Seed (Registration) Rules of 1987 prohibit production
of seed of unapproved varieties
– Seed certification is voluntary for seed of approved
varieties.
– Variety registration does not confer any right on the
breeder.
• In the absence of IPRs, seed of even registered varieties is
produced and sold by several companies under their label.
– Farmer seed saving neither restricted nor regulated.

10. Reforming the Legal Regime
• Draft amendment to Seed Act of 1976
– Requires seed business to register with FSC&RD
– Prohibits sale of uncertified seed or seed of
unapproved varieties
• Draft Punjab Seed Act of 2011
– Aims to support a vibrant seed industry
– Vests powers in a broad-based Seed Council
– Requires only scheduled crops to be regulated
• Other crops can be sold under a truth-in-labelling regime
• Both proposals extend regulatory oversight to the private sector
• Both do not create IPRs
• Private sector’s response has been lukewarm

11. Reforming the Legal Regime (Contd.)
• Draft Plant Breeders’ Rights Act
– First draft prepared in 1999 to meet TRIPS requirements
– Based on UPOV 1999 model law
– Provides for registration of varieties provided they meet
DUS criteria and are novel
• VCU dispensed with; thus allows breeders to register ‘new’, rather
than ‘useful’ varieties
– Registration also available for EDVs
– Registration confers IPRs for 20 years (25 years for trees
and vines)
– Farmers’ right to save seed protected
• Unfortunately, the PBR Bill is still pending with the government.
• Seed companies not pushing it vigorously, as they are unsure of state’s ability to
enforce IPRs and want to continue to use others’ material in their breeding
programs.

12. Recommendations
• Reform the archaic seed sector legislation
– Draft Punjab Seed Act can be a good starting point
– Enact PBRs without further delay
• Bring the focus to the informal sector
– More research
– Support to farmers in seed saving
• Rethink the conceptualisation of the formal and the
informal
– In the current paradigm, formal sector is certified seed of
approved varieties provided by registered seed business
– In a new paradigm, it can be seed provided by registered
companies under their own label.
– Pakistan needs to move from a regime characterised by official
sanction to a regime characterised by farmers’ choice.

13. Thanks