Production of Foundation and Certified Seeds

What is the Production of Foundation and Certified Seeds scheme?

Production of Foundation and Certified Seeds is a seed multiplication incentive of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu. Under it, farmers who produce and supply foundation class and certified class seeds to the Department of Agriculture receive a subsidy of Rs 1,000 per quintal, along with crop-wise production premiums paid per kilogram or as a percentage over the local market rate.

The scheme exists because certified seed is the cheapest yield gain in agriculture and the state cannot produce enough of it on its own farms. Tamil Nadu's seed chain works like this: breeder seed is sourced from breeder seed production centres across the country and multiplied into foundation and then certified seed. Tamil Nadu State Seed Development Agency (TANSEDA), established in 2015 to strengthen the government seed supply chain, operates 33 State Seed Farms, one State Pulses Multiplication Farm and six State Oilseed Farms. Those farms alone cannot meet the state's seed replacement requirement. The gap is filled on progressive farmers' fields, and this scheme is what pays those farmers for the extra discipline seed production demands.

Scale. According to the Agriculture Department's 2025-26 policy note, during 2024-25 seed farms were established over an area of 71,123 acres and 30,164 metric tonnes of seeds were procured. Processed seed passes through 108 seed processing units and is tested in seed testing laboratories for germination, other distinguishable varieties and genetic purity, before being made available at 882 Agricultural Extension Centres for distribution to farmers.

What the scheme pays

Subsidy under the Integrated Scheme for Oilseeds, Pulses, Oilpalm and Maize (ISOPOM)

Premiums under the Seed Multiplication Scheme of paddy, millets, pulses, oilseeds and cotton

Under the National Food Security Mission (Pulses), operating in Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Tiruvallur, Tiruvarur, Thoothukudi, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Villupuram and Virudhunagar districts, assistance for production of foundation and certified seeds is likewise Rs 1,000 per quintal, with assistance limited to two hectares per farmer.

Who is eligible to produce seed, and who is excluded

A farmer can enrol if:

• The farmer produces and supplies seed to the Department of Agriculture on contract basis. This is the defining condition. The incentive is for seed delivered to the department, not for seed kept or sold privately.
• The farmer registers the seed farm with the Assistant Director of Agriculture of the block, on payment of the requisite fees.
• The farmer raises a seed farm in a crop covered by the scheme: paddy, millets, pulses, oilseeds, cotton or maize.
• The farmer follows the field standards and the guidelines given by field level functionaries and Seed Certification Officers.
• For the pulses component under ISOPOM, the farmer raises a seed farm with a pulses crop, subject to availability of funds.

Allocation and preference. A separate allocation is provided for SC and ST seed growers. Under ISOPOM the flow is 24 per cent to SC and ST farmers and 20 per cent to farm women. Preference is given to farm women groups and Farmers Interest Groups.

A farmer cannot claim if:

• The seed is not supplied to the Department of Agriculture. A grower who sells the produce in the open market is not eligible for the subsidy, however good the seed.
• The seed farm was never registered with the Assistant Director of Agriculture before the crop was raised. Registration after harvest is not possible, because certification depends on field inspections during the crop.
• The seed lot fails certification standards for physical or genetic purity, moisture or germination. In that case the farmer must repay the entire advance in one instalment before getting back the stock.
• The farmer did not use departmental source seed carrying the certification tag.
• Funds for the season are exhausted; the pulses and oilseed components are expressly subject to availability of funds.

How to apply and produce seed under the scheme

1. Approach the Assistant Agricultural Officer at village level or the Assistant Director of Agriculture at block level before the season, and state that you wish to enrol as a seed grower.
2. Attend the training. A farmer desirous of enrolling is given training by the authorities concerned at the beginning of each year, covering isolation distances, roguing, field standards and record keeping.
3. Register the seed farm. The seed farm must be registered by the seed producer with the Assistant Director of Agriculture of the block, on payment of the requisite fees.
4. Buy the source seed from the department. The required source seed is supplied by the Department of Agriculture through Agricultural Extension Centres on payment of the sale price fixed by the department. The seed supplied carries a certification tag issued by the Department of Seed Certification.
5. Raise the crop to field standards, following the guidelines given by field level functionaries and Seed Certification Officers to maintain quality. On satisfactory fulfilment of field standards during the entire crop period, the produce is declared fit at field level and is called the field run produce.
6. Move the produce to the Seed Processing Unit. After inspection by the Seed Certification Officer and with due permission, the produce is moved to the nearest Seed Processing Unit owned by the Department of Agriculture. The farmer bears the transport cost to the processing unit.
7. Collect the 90 per cent advance. After the seed is moved, the farmer is initially paid 90 per cent of the Minimum Support Price as declared by the Civil Supplies Department.
8. Wait for processing and testing. The seed is processed at the unit in the presence of the Seed Certification Officer, a sample is drawn and sent to the concerned Seed Testing Laboratory, and the results are declared on completion of testing.
9. Collect the balance payment. Once the results declare the produce as seed material, the farmer is entitled to the full cost for the seed as per the procurement price fixed for that crop and class, and is paid the difference between the full eligible cost and the 90 per cent advance already received.

What the seed chain looks like in Tamil Nadu

Understanding where your produce goes explains why the standards are strict.

• TANSEDA was established in 2015 to strengthen the government seed supply chain, and undertakes production of foundation class and certified class seeds for agricultural crops.
• It operates 33 State Seed Farms (SSF), one State Pulses Multiplication Farm (SPMF) and six State Oilseed Farms (SOSF), which cater to the foundation seed requirement of farmers.
• Seed farms are registered with the Department of Seed Certification and Organic Certification, and seeds are produced following the necessary protocols.
• Seeds are processed in 108 seed processing units. During 2025-26, seven modernised seed processing units are planned under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana at an outlay of Rs 15.05 crore, and 3,000 MT of seed will be processed through units maintained by Farmer Producer Organizations, to expedite processing and ensure on-season availability.
• Seed lots passing the tests are certified and made available at 882 Agricultural Extension Centres.
• Breeder seeds are sourced from breeder seed production centres across the country based on the prescribed Seed Replacement Rate for each crop.

Why seed grower claims fail

• Farm not registered before the crop. Certification depends on field inspection during the season and cannot be done retrospectively.
• Isolation distance or field standards not met, so the crop is rejected at field inspection.
• Seed lot fails the laboratory test for germination, genetic purity or moisture. The advance must then be repaid in one instalment.
• Source seed not bought from the department, so the produce has no certified parentage.
• Produce moved to the processing unit without the Seed Certification Officer's permission.
• Bank account details wrong, delaying both the advance and the balance.
• Funds exhausted for the pulses or oilseed component in that season.

Where to get help

• Assistant Agricultural Officer at village level — the first point of contact for enrolment.
• Agricultural Officer or Deputy Agricultural Officer at block level.
• Assistant Director of Agriculture at block level, the officer who registers the seed farm.
• Joint Director of Agriculture at district level, for escalation.
• Agricultural Extension Centres, for source seed and for scheme information; 882 are functioning across Tamil Nadu.
• Portal: tnagrisnet.tn.gov.in, the Department of Agriculture's AGRISNET portal, and the Uzhavan mobile application for scheme information and advisories.

No payment beyond the prescribed seed farm registration fee and the source seed cost is due to anyone under this scheme.

How to check your application status

There is no separate online tracking number for this scheme the way there is for a DBT cash transfer scheme, because a seed grower's "application" is really a sequence of field events: registration, sowing, field inspection, harvest, movement to the processing unit, laboratory testing, and then payment. Each stage has its own way to check where things stand.

• Registration status. After you register your seed farm with the Assistant Director of Agriculture, confirm with the Assistant Agricultural Officer at village level that the registration has been entered against your name and survey number before you sow. Do not assume registration is complete just because you paid the fee; ask for written or verbal confirmation.

• Field inspection status. Once the crop is sown, the Seed Certification Officer visits for field inspection at defined crop stages. Ask the Assistant Agricultural Officer or Agricultural Officer at block level when the next inspection is due, and whether your earlier inspection was passed. A field declared unfit at any stage should be communicated to you directly; if you have not heard anything and the crop stage has passed, follow up rather than assuming a pass.

• Movement and processing status. After harvest, your produce is moved to the Seed Processing Unit only with the Seed Certification Officer's permission. Keep the movement permission slip and the weighment receipt from the processing unit; these are your proof that the produce was received and are what you will need if a payment gets delayed.

• 90 per cent advance status. The advance is credited to your bank account after the produce is moved to the processing unit. If it has not been credited within a reasonable time after handover, raise it with the Assistant Director of Agriculture at block level, and have your bank passbook and the weighment receipt ready.

• Testing result status. After the sample is sent to the Seed Testing Laboratory, results (germination, genetic purity, moisture) are declared on completion of testing. Ask the Seed Certification Officer or the processing unit for the test result reference for your specific seed lot; a lot number ties your produce to a specific result.

• Balance payment status. Once the lot is certified as seed material, the balance between the full procurement price and the 90 per cent advance already paid is due. If this is delayed beyond a season, escalate in writing to the Joint Director of Agriculture at district level, quoting your seed farm registration number, lot number, and the dates of movement and advance payment.

• Where to escalate. The usual chain is Assistant Agricultural Officer (village) to Agricultural Officer or Deputy Agricultural Officer (block) to Assistant Director of Agriculture (block) to Joint Director of Agriculture (district). For general scheme information and advisories, the Department of Agriculture's AGRISNET portal at tnagrisnet.tn.gov.in and the Uzhavan mobile application are the official digital channels, though individual farm-level payment status is tracked through the block office rather than a self-service online tracker.