FSII Challenges Panjab Hybrid Rice Ban Ahead of Summer Season

After Panjab government’s 7 Apr order banning hybrid paddy seeds for the forthcoming summer transplantation season, on 28 Apr, the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) urged the union govt. to intervene, warning that growers could lose USD 94-118 per acre because hybrid rice typically yields five to six quintals more grain and is officially notified for cultivation. FSII chair Ajai Rana said the prohibition removes roughly one month of a small farmer’s earnings and filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court; hearing is due later in May. The state argues hybrid varieties deplete groundwater and give poor milling recovery. FSII has submitted Punjab Agricultural University, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and International Rice Research Institute data showing total milling recovery of 70‑72.5% and head‑rice above 60%, exceeding Food Corporation of India norms. Farmers from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha met Muktsar deputy commissioner Abhijeet Kaplish on 6 May to demand exemptions to the hybrid seed ban in waterlogged tracts where cotton has disappeared because traditional Pusa Rice paddy seedlings dry out. Farmer from Kotli Dewan village, Muktsar, Gobind Singh said only hybrid paddy succeeds in those soils while Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Dakonda) district president Puran Singh Vattu warned the ban pushes families toward debt. Farmer leader Jarnail Singh Roranwala asked the govt. to test soil and water samples from affected blocks and permit hybrid cultivation before the 15 May start of direct seeded rice and 1 Jun nursery transplanting. The group plans mass protests if no reversal comes. Panjab’s notification currently allows only state‑approved Pusa Rice transplant varieties and keeps the transplant window staggered by district to manage groundwater. FSII counters that hybrid rice uses less water per kilogram of grain and reduces stubble burning. Seed dealers report uncertainty with stock booking for summer crops 2025. The dispute places farmers, scientists, industry and the state at odds as the sowing calendar approaches and the PHHC weighs the ban’s legality against previous scientific approvals and farmer dependence on hybrid seed.