Manipur has just 2.3% of the rabi seed it needs, state-wise data show

India has more certified and quality seed than it needs for the 2026-27 rabi season, but Manipur faces a severe shortage, according to tentative state-wise requirement and availability figures analysed by AgroSpectrum India.

Nationally, availability is put at about 3.56 crore quintals against a requirement of about 3.07 crore quintals, a surplus of 49.19 lakh quintals, or about 16 per cent above demand. Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan account for most of the surplus.

Manipur's gap

Manipur's estimated requirement is 14,312 quintals of certified and quality seed, while reported availability is only 329.30 quintals. That leaves a deficit of 13,982.70 quintals, meaning the available stock covers about 2.3 per cent of what the state needs, the sharpest shortfall of any state in the dataset.

The figures are tentative and do not show which crops account for the gap. They also do not say whether farmers in Manipur may be sourcing seed through other channels, such as farm-saved seed or local markets. The state's agriculture department has not publicly commented on the numbers.

Rabi crops are sown in winter and harvested in spring. In Manipur, the season covers crops such as pulses, rapeseed and mustard, potato and vegetables, much of it grown in the valley districts after the kharif paddy harvest. A seed shortage at sowing time can lead to lower area under crops or lower yields.

The rest of the North East

The picture in the other NE states is mixed:

• Assam: requirement of about 58,199 quintals against availability of about 1,62,103 quintals, a surplus of about 1.04 lakh quintals, or nearly 179 per cent more than it needs.
• Sikkim: a small shortfall, with 302.44 quintals available against a requirement of 320 quintals (a gap of about 5.5 per cent).
• Arunachal Pradesh (4,828 quintals), Meghalaya (1,895.20), Mizoram (1,288.39), Nagaland (1,144.14) and Tripura (12,239.23) report availability exactly equal to their requirement, leaving no buffer for unexpected demand.

Outside the region, Uttar Pradesh also reports a marginal shortfall of about 1,888 quintals, which is only around 0.03 per cent of its very large requirement.

Surplus is not the same as access

The analysis points out that a national surplus does not guarantee that the right seed varieties reach farmers in each state within the sowing window. Wheat, mustard, chickpea and other rabi crops need different seeds suited to local conditions, and distribution networks and timing matter as much as total quantity.

For Manipur, where farming in parts of the state has been disrupted since the 2023 violence, the data suggest the state will need targeted procurement or supply from surplus states if the reported position reflects actual stocks.