I am a motivated and enthusiastic plant science student with a bachelor’s degree from Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU), Hyderabad. I have been awarded a gold medal for attaining highest OGPA from my college in my graduation. Further, I hold a master’s degree from Navsari Agriculture University (NAU), Navsari, Gujarat, specialising in Genetics and Plant breeding along with ICAR-JRF fellowship awarded by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). Currently pursuing my PhD enrolled with PJTSAU and working as a research scholar at International Crop Research Institute for the semi-arid tropics (ICRISAT) on “Developing genetic and genomic resources for high protein content in Pigeonpea”. I have expertise and exposure to seed systems prevailing in India and attended several national and international conferences and seminars.
Abstract:Seed plays a pivotal role in enhancing productivity which was witnessed through the green revolution in cereals. Climate change, hidden hunger, malnutrition, and population explosion are the key issues necessitating the need for enhancing the adoption of quality seeds. The seed replacement rate is unacceptably low in crops like legumes and oil seeds hovering around 20 percent compared to more than 70 percent in cereals and vegetables resulting in the non-availability of quality seeds to the small and marginal farmers of the globe. Hence, there is a dire need to build a strong ecosystem for seed delivery and adoption by smallholder farmers of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. The developing countries of Asia have witnessed a lot of dynamics in terms of diffusion of high yielding variety seeds to the farming communities. These seed systems are diverse and are conceptualized as formal including public institutions and private industries and informal by farmers. Over a period, technological advancements took over legislation, and liberalization of trade across borders resulted in the rapid growth of seed trade and industries. Several success stories and innovations are being documented by public and private institutes focusing on village-based seed enterprises, seed hubs, and seed revolving funds and these are to be further upscaled. Vast genomic resources are developed in many crops and these could be infused for assuring the seed quality, protection, and fast track availability of improved variety seeds. There is also a need to deploy artificial intelligence and machine learning based on emerging technologies such as blockchain, robotics, drones, and mechanization to develop a robust seed inventory, rolling plan, and traceability. Refining seed policies and legislations, capacity building, gender sensitization, integration of public and private sectors, linking seed and input subsidy, and creation of adequate storage facilities are much needed interventions to enhance the adoption of high yielding variety seeds.
