Welcome, Lykkers! On November 4th, in New Delhi, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) announced a comprehensive revamp and the introduction of 170 seed categories on its portal.

Aimed at streamlining farmers' access to high-quality agrarian and horticulture seeds. To simplify the life of growers so they have easy access.

As part of this action, nearly 8,000 seed kinds have been added, which can be carried by Central and State PSUs and other governing bodies for further dispersion across the country, according to a sanctioned statement issued on Monday.

How this development started?

This development was timed with the forthcoming cropping season and involved consultations with colorful stakeholders, including state seed pots and exploration bodies. The new seed orders on the GeM portal give a ready frame for seed procurement, integrating the current rules and regulations set by the Government of India. This framework eases the procurement process for authorities.

GeM's broader strategy with this rollout is to promote category-based procurement via its portal. By focusing on increasing efficiency, the initiative aims to reduce the time spent on tendering processes, enhance transparency and accountability in government procurement, and encourage more seller participation nationwide.

Roli Khare, Deputy CEO of GeM, stated, "We invite sellers to leverage these new seed categories and list their offering to participate freely in government tenders. We also encourage seed corporations and state bodies to utilise these new categories for cost-effective procurement of quality seeds."

The Prime Minister's Initiatives

In a related effort to boost crop production and enhance farmers' incomes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient, and biofortified crop varieties in August this year. This initiative was part of a broader strategy by the Centre and took place at the India Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi.

During the event, the Prime Minister interacted with farmers and scientists, highlighting the importance of sustainable farming and adopting climate-resilient methodologies. He also emphasized promoting bio-fortified crops through various government programs like the Mid-Day Meal and Anganwadi to combat malnutrition in India.

The type of varieties that was introduced

The newly released seeds include 61 crop varieties: 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops. Field crops consist of various cereals, including millets, forage crops, oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane, and cotton. Horticultural crops include different varieties of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, tuber crops, spices, flowers, and medicinal crops.

These initiatives underscore the Prime Minister's commitment to improving agricultural productivity and ensuring the availability of nutritious food across the country.

The main end of this action is to reduce the difficulty of growers and to ameliorate the quality of seeds that are handed, hence creating a system of sustainable and nutritional yield that would help in the development of the country.