Covid wave sows trouble for seed firms
April 19, 2021
Industry fears disruptions from curbs on movements, wants renewal of licences via video-conferencing
For the ₹20,000-crore seed industry, April and May are the most important months for positioning the seeds with local dealers ahead of the kharif sowing season beginning June.
That’s the time when they get seeds from the farmers, process and treat them at their factories before packaging and dispatching to different parts of the country.
The Covid-19 second wave has begun to impact the whole process, with one State after the other announcing restrictions on people’s movements and partial lockdowns.