Dr. Jai Singh is an inspiring leader in India’s seed and agriculture sector, with over 36 years of experience in Seed business management. Jai Singh has a bright academic career, securing gold medals in graduation ( Agril) and Post graduation (Seed Science & Tech). He got his Ph.D in Seed Genetics from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 1989. Dr Jai Singh was the Best Athlete for for 5 years at IARI, New Delhi 1984-89. During his 36 years of professional career, Dr Jai Singh has worked 5 years as Monbusho Research Scholer at Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo Japan and in the last 31 years, he has established the two Japanese Vegetables Seed companies in India from scratch as Managing Director and CEO.
Dr. Jai Singh was the Executive Committee Member, Vice President, and President of the Asia Pacific Seed Association (APSA). He has also served as a member of several APSA and ISF Committees focused on plant breeding innovations, seed trade, and vegetable seeds.
Indian Vegetables Seed market is currently estimated to the size of about Rs 6000 Cr (US$ 700M) and is growing at the 8% CAGR and expected to be close to US$ 1B by 2030. With 100% FDI in seed development and availability and easy access of vast varieties of wide adaptable local germplasm with skilled local HR makes R&D very cost effective. With Prior approval from CBDA/SBDA with ABS, there is easy access to many kinds of local, indigenous germplasm, which makes India a good choice for Breeding. National Seed Policy NSP-2002 and Draft 2024 provides regulatory policy support for seed innovations. PPV & FRA laws ensure the protection of the IPR. Hence India is an excellent place for developing the hybrids of fruit vegetables Crops for Global South of South Asia, SE Asia, Africa and Latin America. South, West India has many good locations for hybrid seed production for vegetables like Cucurbits, Tomato, Okra, Hot Pepper, Sweet Pepper, beans, Eggplant. Temperate climate of Himalayan hills can be developed for seed production of cool crops like Cabbages, Cauliflower, Khol rabi, Beet root, carrot etc. Plains of North India has been found to be very suitable for the OPS and hybrid seed production of the Tropical and sub-tropical cauliflowers, radish, carrot, spinach etc.
India’s agro-climatic diversity, strong scientific base, and established private–public seed systems uniquely position it as a competitive hub for research, production, and export of high-quality vegetable seeds. The “Make in India” initiative provides the strategic framework to harness these advantages by promoting indigenous seed innovation, scaling domestic breeding programs, and enhancing export capabilities.Vegetable seed demand in developing regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America is expanding rapidly due to population growth, urbanization, and dietary diversification. However, many of these countries face technological and infrastructural gaps in seed production. India, with its robust research institutions, skilled manpower, and cost-effective production ecosystems, can bridge this divide through technology transfer, contract seed production, and collaborative breeding programs. Emerging partnerships under South–South cooperation offer a platform for India to play a catalytic role in regional food and nutritional security.
Positioning India as a global seed innovation and export hub not only reinforces the Atmanirbhar Bharatvision but also contributes to sustainable agricultural growth across the Global South. By integrating science, policy, and enterprise, India’s vegetable seed industry can become a cornerstone of inclusive global agricultural development. Indian bred hybrid seeds of fruit vegetables have been found to be performing well in the Tropical and sub-tropical areas of South Asia, SE Asia, ME and Africa and provides an immense potential for the future growth in Global South.
Key opportunities include developing climate-resilient and nutrient-dense hybrids suited to tropical and subtropical environments, precision breeding like MAS, Gene editing to develop varieties for heat, drought, salinity, biotic etc. pressure, are emerging opportunities. Few challenges like one nation-one license, stringent IPR, market linked pricing, national digital seed certification and traceability, structured PPP models with co-funding, shared IP framework, seed traceability and completion of pending PRA need to be addressed. Research linked incentive (RLI) shall provide a favorable ambience for the investment in vegetable seed business. The Global South actively promotes South-South cooperation, where developing countries share knowledge, skills, and resources to achieve their common development goals and address the SDG’s especially 1-No Poverty, 2-Zero Hunger and 13-Climate Action.
