Krishna P.Timsina , Ganesh P.Shivakoti and Kent J. Bradford

DOI

ABSTRACT

The government of Nepal has approved different policies and legislation related to seed and emphasized the importance of quality improvement in the seed sector. However, the public and private sectors face problems to access quality assurance services, maintain the quality of seeds and supply based on the demand to the consumer. Considering the situation, this paper tries to analyses existing production, requirements and distribution scenario of selected vegetable seeds along with policy issue in the vegetable seeds sub-sectors in Nepal. Based on the analysis, policy options were recommended for seed quality improvement and income generation. Results indicated that over the four decades, the demand for vegetable seeds is increasing at rapid rate compared to seed production. The national demand of vegetable seed could be met by adopting two strategies: first, the effort of varietal development, maintenance, testing and national listing of imported varieties that are suitable for different locations should be combined with the maintenance of the seed cycle based on the farmer’s preference, and second, the effort is needed to improve the quality of seeds by adopting proper postharvest operation such as appropriate drying and storage technology. It is necessary to manage the supply of farmer preferred varieties and quality seeds through government initiative by creating conducive environment to private sectors investment. For seed quality improvement, the identified role of the public sector, private sector and community-based organizations (CBOs) should be implemented in right time synchronized to meet the national demands of the vegetable seeds.