As per the 2021 Access to Seeds Index (3rd Edition), which is launched as part of World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), India is one among the 6 South and South-East Asian countries that attracts most investments in the domestic seed sector from the global seed industry.
- Other 5 countries in South and South-East Asia which attracts investments in breeding, production and processing include Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Bangladesh.
- The Access to Seeds Index measures and compares the efforts of the world’s leading seed companies to enhance the productivity of smallholder farmers.
Key Points:
i.The 2021 Access to Seeds Index ranks 31 seeds companies (13 global and 18 regional companies selling vegetable and field crop) in South and South-East Asia on 6 measurement areas for increasing access to quality seeds of improved varieties to reach smallholder farmers with quality seeds in 14 countries.
ii.21 companies have processing locations in 9 countries, in which 17 of those companies are present in India.
iii.The companies, East-West Seed (6 countries), Advanta (4) and Syngenta Group (3) have the most investments in South and South-East Asia.
Indicators: These companies are assessed using the 2021 Access to Seeds Index methodology, which includes 32 indicators across six measurement areas viz Governance & Strategy; Genetic Resources & Intellectual Property Management; Research & Development; Seed Production; Marketing & Sales; Capacity Building
2021 Access to Seeds Index: South and South East Asia:
| Company Name | Rank (Out of 31) | Total Score/100 |
|---|---|---|
| East-West Seed | 1 | 81.9 |
| Advanta | 2 (two positions higher than in 2019) | 77.2 |
| Bayer | 3 | 76.1 |
| Mahyco Grow (India) | 4 (ranked 19th in 2019) | 71.7 |
| Acsen HyVeg | 5 | 64.6 |
Note – The United Nation’s 2021 report on the state of Food Security and nutrition indicates that 418 million people in Asia are suffering of hunger, 57 million more people than in 2019, partly because of the COVID-19.
- Bayer leads the 2021 Western Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa ranking.
2021 About Access to Seeds Index:
i.Access to Seeds Index benchmarks 67 seed companies on their efforts to make their products available to smallholder farmer in 3 regions: South and South-east Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Western and Central Africa.
- Â All the 67 companies report their presence in 54 of 55 index countries.
ii.2021 Access to Seeds Index is the 3rd index after 2016 and 2019 index.
iii.The index also evaluates seed companies’ contributions to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.
Recent Related News:
On April 19, 2021, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal launched the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) to provide Financial Assistance to startups for Proof of Concept, Prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization.
