Vegetable seed village: a key to women farmer empowerment

Abstract

The Seed one of the critical input has also become an expensive input due to involvement of several multinational companies in its production and distribution system. This in return have devastated the farming community who are completely dependent on private companies on timely supply of vegetable seeds for successful farming. Realising the high investment in procurement of vegetable seeds, the concept of vegetable seed village can be popularised among the farming community with special focus on landless women farmers, who can be successfully involved in the local seed network for strengthening the supply of ample quantity of quality vegetable seeds at grass root level. Such a seed village concept in mass production of vegetable seeds at their homestead areas can proof effective in ensuring livelihood security to these vulnerable groups. This can further be strengthened with suitable policy frameworks and rural infrastructure for enabling the women groups to emerge as successful entrepreneurs in fields of vegetable seed production.