Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus2 (SARS CoV-2), a newly discovered virus that falls under Coronavirus family. The outbreak was 1st seen in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The sudden outbreak of Coronavirus since 1stcase being seen on 23 January,2020 in Nepal. It becomes even more sever with the increase in the number of cases, to slow down the spread of virusleading to the implementation of 1st lockdown since 23rd march, 2020.
Our survival is dependenton agriculture and a good harvest depends on quality seeds delivered to farmers by the seed sectors, both public and private. As we are in the midst of Coronavirus crisis, from research it is found that most of the farmers didn’t get rice seed in time because of mobility restrictions during lockdown. Nepal is dependent on mainly India for hybrid seed. Access to affordable good quality seed is one of the prerequisite to increase agriproducts and improve the livelihoods of poor Nepalese farmers.
Quality seed are those seed which are varietally pure with high germination percentage, with proper moisture content, free from diseases and disease organisms and have a proper weight. In the increase of food production of our country, quality seed production which follows efficient certification procedures plays a major role. The quality of seeds and young plant is important to give a better crop growth which ends with plentiful availability of the products. Maximum profits can be reached by combining good seeds with right method of cultivation at right time. Quality seeds and young plants also contribute to the efficient use of resources by the local farmers, lead to safer and healthier food, provide job opportunities and dealing with effects of climate change. It ensure good germination, rapid emergence and vigorous growth which ends with good crop production if it get right cultivation method.
Quality seed can increase crop yield by 15-20%.However, there are critical challenges hindering the growth of Nepal’s seed industry. Existing seed replacement rate of cereal crop is low around 15%. About 85%of Nepali farmers are unable to access recently developed improved seeds-instead, they are cultivating decades old varieties with low yield and low profits. Some of the factors limiting the development of seed systems are the high cost of seed production and processing, the limited reach of mechanization and the low use of conservation agriculture practices.
Food security exists when all the people at all the time have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. There are three main types of agri-food policy solutions aimed at food security:- food self reliance, food self sufficiency and food sovereignty. Food self sufficiency is part of larger issue of food security. There is direct relation between food security and seed security so seed insecurity undermines subsequent production.
The primary risks to food security are at the country level: as the Coronavirus crisis unfolds, disruptions in domestic food supply chains, other shocks affecting food production, and loss of incomes and remittances are creating strong tensions and food security risks in many countries. Despite stable global food prices, numerous countries are experiencing varying levels of food price inflation at the retail level, reflecting supply disruptions due to COVID-19, currency devaluations and other factors. Rising food prices have a greater impact in low and middle income countries than in high income countries. Higher retail prices, combined with reduced incomes, mean more and more households are having to cut down on the quality and quantity of their food consumption, with potentially lasting impacts on nutrition and health.
Producing quality seed is an effective tool to address the issues of self sufficiency, food insecurity and economic development. For the assessment of quality seeds, main things that are purity, germination and moisture content of seed lot. For that, certified seeds are highly used, which have really purity. Certified seeds mainly four types: Nucleus seed, Breeder seed, Foundation seed (I&II) and Certified seed (I&II). If such seeds are available to farmers, then it can be advantageous for them in many perspectives like uniform plant population and maturity.
As they are also found to be profitable in term of monetary as farmers can get high return per unit area as the genetic potentiality of the crop be fully exploited, with the increased nutrient use efficiency. It can be a sound material for transforming the agriculture of Nepal, mainly in the rural sides, as it supports on the saving of money of poor farmers, and high production and supply in market from rural sides supporting GDP of country.
