Transparent Distribution of Subsidy on Hybrid Seed during Kharif 2015 New Delhi, Amit Mohan Prasad Pr. Secretary, Uttar Pradesh

Traditional system of “At Source Subsidy” Weaknesses: List of beneficiaries not available leading to crisis of credibility Plethora of complaints year after year Balance sheet not prepared since Chances of misappropriation etc can not be ruled out Distribution of subsidy in a non-transparent method Dissatisfaction among stakeholders Hence, we decided to try out DBT

Distribution through DBT CHALLENGES:  Recordkeeping of distribution was manual, hence not possible to avoid duplication  Availability of data of farmers along with their bank account numbers etc  Farmers do not have capacity to pay upfront the full price of the seed  Shortage of staff in the department at the block level for dissemination  Bringing different stakeholders on board to cooperate with the new system

Subsidy on Hybrid Seeds Hybrid seed is a high value item As compared to Rs 30/kg for certified seed of paddy, the price of hybrid seed of paddy can be anywhere between Rs / kg; Similarly for other crops Land holdings are very small in UP, particularly Eastern UP Hence the farmers use hybrid seed of paddy in larger numbers as compared to Western UP, where mostly scented rice is grown High value of hybrid seed makes it prone to diversion to the market etc.

Subsidized Seeds through DBT Strengths:  A new scheme called “Kisaan Pardarshi Seva Yojana” was already in place  Under this farmers were being registered for transparent distribution of inputs  Copy of Land Record, Bank Passbook and Identity Proof of the farmer is collected along with his Bio- metric  Farmers have to register On-line on the web portal of Agriculture department  Farmers can register at Lokvani Kendra, Cyber Cafes and also at DDA/DAO/Block office

Decision to go for DBT The new system was going to hit the vested interests of many stakeholders, hence it was a difficult decision to take The state government after due deliberation and considering all aspects of the existing system decided to go for the changed system of DBT for hybrid seeds Decision was taken at the highest level to implement the changed system and government order was issued on Registration of farmers for getting hybrid seed on subsidized basis started on the 16 th of April, 2015

The Process (Contd.) Due to complaints, the payments of the hybrid seed companies was held up for 2014 and also partially for 2013 For 2015, all the big companies refused to participate in the traditional system of hybrid seed distribution because of this A meeting of hybrid seed companies was convened to take them on board to implement the new system When they realized that they will get their full payment in one go from the farmers, they agreed to participate in this

The Process (Contd.) A meeting of the departmental officers was also convened and the decision of the state government to go for the new system was conveyed to them also There were some apprehensions in their minds as they had this “fear of the unknown” However, after some explanation about the new system, they also saw the merit of this and agreed to implement it wholeheartedly Other agencies, which were involved in the distribution of hybrid seeds, also grudgingly agreed

Actual Distribution Companies were asked to set up retail counters at the block level seed godown store of Agriculture Department Only varieties notified for UP were allowed to be sold at subsidized rates Companies were asked to give an undertaking that they will not sell these seeds at a lower rate in the open market Bank guarantee was taken for the performance of seeds Prices were pegged at the level of 2014 after some discussions with the companies Farmer had the freedom to buy a variety of his choice

The Process Farmers started registering for hybrid seeds In the beginning, the last date of registration was 26 th of April which was extended many times to ensure that no willing farmer is left out This was done in different stretches as we also wanted to assess our ability to supply, given the limitation of budget Distribution of hybrid seeds was started early on 1 st of May, so that no one can blame the new system for unavailability of seed

Distribution at Bakshi ka Talaab, Lucknow

In Barabanki District

The Process After buying hybrid seed at full rate from the seller, farmer was required to deposit a copy of the receipt and a duly filled pre-designed form to the govt. employee at the seed store A beneficiary list was prepared on the basis of the documents received Bills were submitted in the treasury for direct subsidy transfer in to the bank account of the farmer Treasury, after due verification of budget and the other records, transferred the amount to the farmers’ accounts

The Result No. of Farmers registered for hybrid seeds: 5,10,867 No. of Farmers who actually purchased: 1,46,085 Admissible Subsidy Amount : Rs Cr (State Govt. gives a subsidy of Rs 80/kg for hybrid paddy seed and Rs. 50/kg for hybrid seeds of other crops; another Rs.50/kg comes from the centrally sponsored schemes) The distribution has been totally transparent and accountable It has resulted in huge savings as it has plugged the leakages!

What Next? Farmers have welcomed this new system whole heartedly even though they have to pay the full price upfront After they actually got the admissible subsidy into their bank accounts, they demanded that the same system be implemented in Rabi also for the certified seeds State Government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to go for it during Rabi also! Government order issued on

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Thank You!