With prospects of robust sales and increase in online businesses, the state-owned National Seed Corporation (NSC) is aiming to increase its sales turnover by 33% on year to over Rs 1,600 crore in FY26, a senior official said.
NSC, which functions under the agriculture ministry, is aiming to increase sales of millets, pulses, oilseeds, wheat and fodder seeds in FY26.
“The production of seeds during FY25 has increased to more than 2.2 million quintals from 1.7 million quintal, which will be sold during this year and will enhance sales value,” K C Sahoo, director (commercial), NSC, told FE.
In FY25, NSC reported a net profit of Rs 90 crore, while in the previous fiscal the profits were Rs 72 crore.
Sahoo said at present there are more than 5000 dealers across the country helping in reaching out to the farmers for making seeds available at their doorstep.
According to the official, currently there are around 1500 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) who are associated with NSC both as dealers and as well as consumers which is expected to give a boost to sales in FY26.
There would be addition of 150 farmers’ collectives in the current fiscal.
In September, 2024, NSC had launched the sale of various seed varieties and planting materials on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an e-commerce platform. Operating under the ministry of agriculture, NSC has also onboarded its regional and area offices onto MyStore, an online marketplace connected to ONDC.
Farmers buying seeds and planting materials directly from the corporation helps reduce cost and NSC has tied up with India post and other ONDC logistic players for actual shipping, which can be tracked, an official said.
Officials say that the availability of certified seeds through this platform helps increase the seed replacement ratio for major field crops, leading to higher yields.
This is the first instance of a government-owned seed firm selling seeds online, while state government-owned seed companies have yet to adopt online platforms for this purpose
The product basket of NSC comprises 80 crops and 900 varieties comprising cereals, oilseeds, pulses, millets, fodder, fiber, green manure and a wide range of vegetables.
Saplings of fruit crops like Citrus, Pomegranates, Guava, Mango, ornamentals and forestry saplings or plants are also being produced by NSC. Of these, 88 products are now available for sale online.
Annually, NSC produces over 100,007 tonnes of certified, high-quality seeds, covering 300 crop varieties. According to industry estimates, the corporation contributes about 48% of the total certified seeds produced in the country while the rest is produced by the private sectors.
Currently, 62 locations of NSC’s regional offices, area offices, and central seed farms have been integrated into the ONDC network for the direct sale of seeds and planting materials.