Hyderabad, May 2, 2025 — The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) convened a high-level gathering of India’s key seed system actors at the Seed System Accelerator Meet 2025, held on May 1 at the ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad. The event marked a strategic milestone in strengthening the country’s rice seed delivery ecosystem by fostering impactful partnerships and facilitating the timely dissemination of market-preferred, climate-resilient high-yielding rice varieties.
Organized under the leadership of Dr. Swati Nayak, South Asia Lead for Seed Systems at IRRI, and Dr. Vikas Kumar Singh, Regional Breeding Lead, South Asia, the event brought together representatives from state seed corporations, private seed enterprises, small and medium seed businesses, NARES partners and farmer producer companies.
While India leads the world in rice production, its productivity per hectare remains suboptimal due to the prolonged cultivation of older, less resilient varieties. Despite the availability of superior alternatives, the pace of varietal turnover remains slow, and the adoption of newer, climate-smart, and nutrition-rich varieties is yet to reach its full potential.
Dr. Sankalp Bhosale, interim lead, Rice Breeding Innovations platform, IRRI emphasized the opportunity cost incurred when improved varieties are not adopted in a timely manner. He noted that with new and advanced genotypes being made available through the IRRI–NARES collaboration, it is critical to strengthen the linkages between the research pipelines and rice seed chain across different ecologies in India. He highlighted that the Seed Accelerator Network offers a promising pathway to enable these seamless connections and accelerate the delivery of improved varieties to farmers.
“The gap is not in innovation, but in delivery,” noted Dr. Swati Nayak during her welcome address. “We are focused on enabling faster, demand-driven varietal replacement through collaboration, data, and inclusive delivery models.”
The event served as a platform to highlight IRRI’s integrated One Rice Breeding and Seed System Strategy, which promotes product development based on market segment needs, followed by coordinated on-farm testing and multi-stakeholder scaling. This strategy, built on science and partnerships, aims to position the right variety in the right place at the right time, and in the hands of the right user.
Dr. Vikas Kumar Singh provided an in-depth overview of how IRRI’s breeding strategy is being aligned with national goals. “Our approach integrates data, breeding, and delivery efforts into a single cohesive pipeline, enabling timely handovers from research to seed companies and state agencies,” he said.
A key session led by Dr. Sk Mosharaf Hossain showcased compelling evidence from over three years of adaptive, on-farm trials conducted across diverse Indian agroecology. The data underscored the superior performance of several new rice varieties with superior yield and grain quality along with resilience towards disease, pests and climatic shocks like flood and drought.
To bridge the gap between research outputs and market access, the event emphasized co-delivery mechanisms involving joint planning with seed corporations, licensing partners, and regional seed multipliers. Participants were also briefed on IRRI’s germplasm sharing modalities, presented by Dr. Linga Reddy Gutha, and invited to submit expressions of interest to access early-generation seed (EGS) of promising varieties.
The meeting featured focused group discussions on creating a robust roadmap for public-private partnerships in seed scaling, where participants identified challenges and innovations in varietal positioning, seed multiplication, and farmer outreach. Discussions yielded a consensus on the importance of:
- Strengthening breeder–seed industry–extension linkages
- Leveraging adaptive trial data for product positioning
- Facilitating inclusive access to breeder seed and licensing agreements
- Supporting regional seed enterprises through capacity building and co-investment
In closing, the conveners called for a renewed commitment to accelerated varietal replacement and the strengthening of seed systems that are inclusive, efficient, and evidence led.
“We are entering a new era in rice agriculture—one that demands agility, alignment, and partnerships,” said Dr. Nayak. “With the support of our national and private sector partners, we can ensure that every farmer has timely access to superior rice seeds tailored for today’s climate, markets, and nutritional needs.”
The Seed System Accelerator Meet 2025 reaffirmed IRRI’s commitment to serve as a trusted scientific and strategic partner in India’s agricultural transformation. The outputs and recommendations from the meet will feed into national strategies, with a focus on empowering seed system accelerators to deliver lasting impact across India’s rice sector.
