The Rice Seed System in India: Structure, Performance, and Challenges

Abstract Seed quality is of increasing importance to the rice industry. Therefore, an efficient seed-provisioning system is considered as an essential element of India’s overall rice strategy. The principal objective of this chapter is to analyze the current structure and performance of various players in the current seed system in order to draw a meaningful outlook on India’s rice seed sector. The chapter discusses four key aspects of the seed system: (1) structure, roles, and current status of key participating entities in the seed system; (2) hybrid rice technology and its seed system; (3) the current policy environment; and (4) key challenges and future outlook.