From 1% to 10% by 2035: India’s seed industry sets its sights on global market

India’s seed industry has spent decades supplying its own farmers. Now it wants a share of everyone else’s. The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) said on Thursday that the sector aims to raise India’s share of global seed trade from around 1 per cent to 10 per cent by 2035, while strengthening domestic innovation and self-reliance in crops considered strategically important, such as oilseeds and pulses.

The goal was set out at FSII Knowledge Day 2026, held as part of the federation’s 10th Annual General Meeting in New Delhi. FSII said the industry, currently valued at $3.6 billion and expected to cross $5 billion by 2030, would contribute to Atmanirbharta in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

FSII Chairman and Savannah Seeds MD & CEO Ajai Rana said India has the science, talent and farmers to become a major player in the global seed market, calling government initiatives such as the National Mission on High-Yielding Seeds important steps. He said the industry was ready to invest more in research, particularly in oilseeds and pulses.

Outlining the industry’s demands, Rana called for a single national framework for seed regulation with predictable timelines, faster science-based approvals for new varieties, traits and technologies, and stronger intellectual property protection, especially in oilseeds and pulses, saying this would give companies confidence to make long-term investments.

Rana said there was merit in giving a decisive push to R&D investment, noting that while developed countries spend about 3 to 4 per cent of GDP on R&D, India’s investment remains below 1 per cent, even though research suggests every rupee spent on R&D can yield a return of Rs 13.

On edible oil import dependence, Rana said government and industry working together could achieve self-sufficiency in edible oil in under 10 years. He said the industry has developed mustard hybrids yielding one tonne per acre, adding significantly to farmer incomes compared to wheat, and that diverting some land from wheat to mustard could meaningfully boost farmer income while reducing import dependence.

Kishore Jaiswal, progressive farmer and Convenor of the National Farmers’ Empowerment Initiative, said farmers adopt better seed once they see results in their fields, with good seed delivering higher yields and better protection against pests and bad weather.

He said Indian farmers want access to the latest seed technologies at the same time as farmers in other countries.

Dr K Vijayaraghavan, Chairman and CEO of Sathguru Management Consultants, Hyderabad, cited findings from a report on India’s vegetable seed sector showing 93 percent of vegetable farmers across five major producing states use hybrid seed, with 68 percent sourcing it through dealers.

He said improved seed was translating into economic value, with an average cultivation cost of Rs 1.07 lakh per acre and an average reported return on investment of 2.7 times, with 85 percent of farmers reporting improved crop resilience and 61 percent considering contemporary varieties climate-ready.

The report, “Transformation of India’s Vegetable Seed Sector,” was prepared by Sathguru Management Consultants and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands.

The report’s findings also pointed to an opportunity to unlock further value, noting that awareness and adoption of specific climate and biotic-stress traits remain limited, with farmers continuing to rely on generic pesticide applications for crop protection.

Also present at the event were FSII Director General Dr Paresh Verma, Marion van Schaik, Counsellor for Agriculture at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New Delhi, and Dr Manish Diwan, GGM and Head of RDF at BIRAC.