Rice farmers in India have traditionally kept a portion of their harvest as seeds for the next planting. In this traditional system, public sector production and marketing of seeds of improved varieties developed through public research and development played a critical role in promoting the green revolution. In recent years, the seed system of rice in India is undergoing a transition towards increasing involvement of the private sector, especially in production and marketing of seeds. Such transitions have been driven by a number of economic and institutional changes that have made private provision of rice seeds economically viable. At the same time, economic justifications of public sector involvement in subsidised seed production and marketing are weakening. Through a case study of Odisha, this paper highlights the nature of transition taking place in rice seed provisioning.
