Chairman will be heading NSAI’s governing council from 2013-2015

Mr. Rao will be heading NSAI’s governing council 2013-2015

National Seed Association of India which represents the private & public sector seeds companies announced the appointment of Mr. M Prabhakar Rao as its new president. The announcement came after the annual general meeting held on 31st July 2013 in New Delhi. Mr. Rao will be heading NSAI’s governing council 2013-2015. Mr.M Prabhakar Rao is the Chairman and Managing Director of Hyderabad based India’s largest seed company Nuziveedu Seeds Limited.

Commenting on being elected as the President of premier seed association, Mr. M Prabhakar Rao said, “I am honored to have been bestowed with such responsibility, which gives me an opportunity to work towards regulatory issues faced by seed industry, creating conducive environment for seed industry functioning and for Intellectual property rights for the seeds varieties so as to enhance R&D investments for benefit of farmers”.

The other members of NSAI’s office bearers include Mr. M. G. Shembekar, Vice President, (Ankur Seeds Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Bhupen Dubey, General Secretary, (UPL Advanta Ltd.), Dr. K. S. Narayanaswamy, Treasurer, (GEO Biotechnologies Pvt. Ltd.), Dr. K. V. Subbarao, Immediate Past President, (PHI Seeds Ltd.) among other members.

National Seed Association of India has 238 seed companies, including private and public sector companies as its members. The association facilitates consultation between the members and the Government of India, state governments and different international agencies.

About National Seed Association of India (NSAI):
The National Seed Association of India provides a forum for consultation between the Members and the concerned Ministries of Government of India, ICAR, Certification Agencies, State Governments and with different international agencies that regulates seed sector. With greater openness in the economy, the Association is gearing up for a much bigger role by hosting national and international seed conferences like Indian Seed Congress (ISC) and Asian Seed Congress of APSA and ISF and by working towards an increased role for India in the international seed trade. The private sector has strong scientific capabilities and breeding programs, comprehensive multi location testing facilities including on-farm testing of pre-commercial hybrids as per national and international testing protocols, research trial data supplemented by on-farm test data and farmer feedback on performance and preference to facilitate decisions on commercialization of new hybrids. Indian Seed industry is working towards farmer prosperity through varietal development and spreading right agronomy for yield enhancement.

Chairman elected as President of National Seed Association of India (NSAI)

National Seed Association of India (NSAI) which represents the private & public sector seeds companies announced the appointment of our beloved Chairman Mr. M Prabhakar Rao as its new president. The announcement came after the annual general meeting held on 31st July 2013 in New Delhi. Chairman will be heading NSAI’s governing council for 2013-2015.

Our Chairman said, “I am honored to have been bestowed with such responsibility, which gives me an opportunity to work towards regulatory issues faced by seed industry, creating conducive environment for seed industry functioning and for Intellectual property rights for the seeds varieties so as to enhance R&D investments for benefit of farmers”.

Dr. P Sateesh Kumar, Director, R&D, Nuziveedu Seeds and Mr. Venkateshwarlu, MD, Yaaganti Seeds, are also elected to governing council.

NSL to focus on R&D, inorganic growth via acquisitions

Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL) is the largest hybrid seed producer in the country. It is the dominant player in cotton seed segment with a 25 per cent share of the Rs 3,500-crore market. It’s seeds are used by more than 5.5 million farmers. Recently, M Prabakar Rao, chairman and managing director of Nuziveedu Seeds, was elected president of the National Seed Association of India, which is represented by 238 seed companies including private and public sector companies as its members. Prabakar Rao talks to Sanjeev Sharma about the growth of hybrid seed industry in the country and how kharif sowing has crossed record levels thereby boosting the seed industry.

Q: What is the outlook on the domestic seed industry?

A: Domestic seed market has grown at 15-20% in the past two years, which is almost double the growth experienced by other countries. Development of new varieties of seeds in the country is low and also replacement of new varieties of seeds is low as compared to rest of the world. This will change as demand goes up. Worldwide, the seed industry is a $42 billion market. Top six countries, including India, control 67% of the global market.

In terms of crops, cotton seed market size is estimated to be nearly 23% that of the seed industry. Paddy seeds dominate the market in terms of the volumes with around 50% of the market followed by wheat with 37%.

With kharif sowing crossing record levels across the country, the season proves to be promising one for the seed industry as well. Area under kharif crops, including paddy and other foodgrains, has increased by over 17% to around 750 lakh hectare till the last week of July.

Q: Traditional food crop growing areas like Punjab and Haryana are moving to cash crops. What does this mean for your business model?

A: Punjab and Haryana are facing problems like over-exploitation of water resources forcing farmers to diversify into cash crops like maize. Nuziveedu Seeds has good presence in Punjab, Haryana and UP for cotton, varietal and hybrid paddy. Apart from these states, the company intends to increase participation in government subsidy programmes in states such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha to market products to more farmers. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has identified seven hybrid seeds developed by Nuziveedu Seeds for paddy, maize, sorghum and pearl millet, of which five are eligible for subsidies.

Q: Has NSL expanded its product portfolio in other crops such as paddy, maize and vegetables?

A: We are focusing on non-cotton seed segments like paddy, maize and vegetables. We have also developed hybrid seeds for vegetables such as tomatoes, chillies, okra and brinjals. We intend to continue to produce these high quality products at affordable prices in order to increase our market share. Sale of these crops today contributes more than 25% of the total seeds business.

Q: How big is NSL’s infrastructure and distribution network?

A: We own 16 processing plants which are spread in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Gujarat. The processing centres have a combined processing capacity of 148 TPH (ton per hour) and an aggregate capacity to store 79,500 metric tonne of seeds.

Q: Recently NSL implemented a PPP model with Maharashtra government. How successful has been this model?

A: We engage in collaborative research activities with various government and international organisations. The Maharashtra government along with Nuziveedu Seeds took this initiative to increase per acre yield of cotton by employing innovative crop methods like high density planting and improved agronomic practices. The project is the largest in the country covering nearly 10,000 acres. More than 3,000 farmers from the region benefitted through this project. The results have been quite encouraging. The Maharashtra government has now evinced interest in extending the project to 20,000 acres this year covering seven districts.

Q: What is NSL’s growth strategy? Any plans to expand into overseas market?

A: Our strategy rests on five pillars — consolidating leadership position in cotton; increasing market share in crops like varietal and hybrid paddy, hybrid maize and hybrid seeds for vegetables such as tomatoes and brinjal; expanding our customer and distribution base; focus on R&D activities; and pursue inorganic growth via acquisitions. Our major focus markets within India are North and East. We are also actively looking to expand our footprint in South and South-East Asia. We invest around 3 per cent of our total revenue towards R&D activities and our research facilities are spread over 815 acres.