Rewriting the Rules for Farm Inputs

India’s agricultural reform agenda is entering a crucial moment. After decades of relying on outdated, paper-based regulation, the government is now signalling a decisive shift towards technology-driven transparency and accountability.

- Narayan Kulkarni

The proposed Seed Act 2026, slated to be introduced in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament, along with the draft Pesticides Management Bill, 2025, marks a conscious effort to clean up agricultural input markets long plagued by fake, substandard and unaccountable products. These initiatives recognise a simple but often ignored truth: farmers' distress is shaped not only by prices or rainfall, but also by the quality of inputs that determine crop success or failure.

India’s existing regulatory framework for seeds and pesticides dates back to the 1960s, an era when agriculture was largely public-sector driven and private markets were limited. The Seed Act of 1966 and the Insecticides Act of 1968 were never designed for today’s complex, private-dominated supply chains. Over time, this mismatch allowed spurious seeds and adulterated pesticides to proliferate. Weak penalties and sluggish enforcement meant that cheating farmers carried little risk, steadily eroding trust in markets and public institutions alike.