BIS rolls out new standard protocol for seed banks to help farmers

New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published a new Indian Standard — IS 20201:2026 to introduce a comprehensive, structured management framework for Community Seed Banks (CSBs) across the country, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.

By offering a standardised operating protocol for decentralised, community-led seed banks, IS 20201:2026 aims to promote conservation of indigenous seed varieties, thereby enhancing agricultural resilience and securing long-term food safety amid the uncertainties triggered by climate change.

The initiative assumes importance as India’s native seed varieties represent an invaluable strategic resource with the agriculture sector experiencing the impacts of climate change, including erratic precipitation, rising temperatures, and prolonged droughts. Different traditional seeds possess unique vital traits such as natural drought tolerance, disease resistance, and high nutritional value.

The standard aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and the government’s commitment to preserve agricultural biodiversity and support sustainable farming systems. It reinforces central initiatives, such as the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission (NFSNM), which provides a one-time assistance of Rs 50 lakh for establishing community seed banks and statutory protections under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the statement said.

By functioning as a decentralised repository, standard-compliant CSBs empower local farmers to reliably collect, store, and exchange high-quality, locally adapted seeds. The standard outlines requirements relating to organisational arrangements, seed collection and acquisition, seed processing and storage. This protects the livelihoods of smallholders, builds grass-roots resilience, and ensures access to resilient, traditional crop varieties.

The standard outlines rigorous requirements for the end-to-end lifecycle of seed bank operations, including organisational arrangements, seed collection and acquisition, viability testing, cleaning, drying, storage, documentation, quality assurance, seed regeneration practices, risk management, and continual improvement.

The draft for this management system standard was developed under the convenorship of the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, with critical inputs from the National Biodiversity Authority, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, and the BAIF Development Research Foundation.

This is a voluntary certifiable management system standard.

IS 20201:2026 can be downloaded free of cost from the official BIS portal. All community seed banks, cooperative societies, and agricultural stakeholders are strongly encouraged to adopt these guidelines to foster a quality-conscious, self-reliant ecosystem for indigenous seed preservation, the statement added.

–IANS

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