Addressing Barriers to Rice Seeds Trade Between India and Bangladesh (RISTE)

Goal:To develop an enabling environment to promote seeds trade and knowledge-sharing on HYV rice seeds between India and Bangladesh.

Assumptions:
1.Political environment remains conducive to policy engagement in Bangladesh and India
2. Bilateral trade remains a high priority for India and Bangladesh
3. Adequate demand for HYV rice seeds in Bangladesh and in India
4. Adequate domestic capacity to produce HYV rice seeds in India and their export
5. Existence of good cross-border trade infrastructure in Bangladesh and India
6. Lessons from HYV rice seeds export from India and hybrid rice seeds import to Bangladesh for regulatory/policy reforms in regard to rice seeds trade regimes of India and Bangladesh will be analysed

Activity

Output

Outcome

Objective 1: Understanding of factors that drive demand and flow(production, marketing and use) of HYV rice seeds in
Eastern Indian States and Bangladesh to identify varieties with bilateral trade potential

Initial desk research by CUTS

Literature review by CUTS
(January – March 2013)

(April – June 2013)

Consensus among major stakeholder groups on demand scenarios and bilateral trade potential between Bangladesh and India for HYV rice seeds
(December 2013)

Key Stakeholders:
1. Seed Associations
2. Seed Traders including exporters and importers
3. India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IBCCI)
4.Media
5. Research/Policy Institutions

Means of Verification:
1. Peer review of a recommendatory paper on demand scenarios and potential trade between India and Bangladesh in HYV rice seeds by these stakeholder groups
2. Release of a joint communiqué on demand scenarios and potential trade in HYV rice seeds in association with Seed Associations and IBCCI
 

Project Launch Meeting and First Meeting of the Project Advisory Committee by CUTS

Gathering of data and other information by CUTS to write a Baseline Report on HYV rice seeds in India and Bangladesh and a Briefing Paper

(April – June 2013)

Field visit by CUTS to the project partners in Eastern Indian states and in Bangladesh – to review the work progress and to meet a few key informants
(July – August 2013)

Through interactive manner and with mutual feedback desk research and field research on factors driving the demand and flow (production, marketing and use) of HYV rice seeds in respective states – to understand the functioning of HYV rice seeds flow (field research will be limited focused group discussion with farmer groups in selected places and interaction with key informants
in rice seeds flow map) by:
1. Project partners in Eastern Indian states
(July – November 2013)

2. Project partner in Bangladesh
(July – November 2013)

Preparation and release of a joint communiqué by CUTS and its project partners on demand scenarios and potential trade between India and Bangladesh in HYV rice seeds
(November – December 2013)

Report from field visit by CUTS
(July-August 2013)

A joint communiqué by CUTS and its project partners on demand scenarios and potential trade between India and Bangladesh in HYV rice seeds
(December 2013)
 

Objective 2: Understanding of systemic enabling factors and challenges (institutions, laws, policies, regulations and practices) to bilateral knowledge-sharing and trade of seeds between India and Bangladesh, particularly on HYV rice seeds

Second Meeting of the Project Advisory Committee in Dhaka by the Bangladesh partner and CUTS to discuss the extent to which Objective 1 and related outcomes are achieved and activities related to Objectives 2 and 3 and related outcomes
(December 2013/January 2014)

Preparation and endorsement of a memorandum on policy and practice changes by CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh to make a case for bilateral knowledge-sharing and HYV rice seeds trade between India and Bangladesh
(June – July 2014)
Preparation of a brief by CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh and their interaction with IBCCI and Seed
Associations on the need for forming a joint subject expert group by IBCCI and Seed Associations
(June – July 2014)

Report of the PAC Meeting CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh
(December 2013/January 2014)

A consolidated rReport by CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh on systemic enabling factors and challenges (institutions,laws, policies, regulations and practices) to bilateral knowledge-sharing and HYV rice seeds trade between India and Bangladesh
(June 2014)

A brief by CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh on the need for forming a joint subject expert group by IBCCI and Seed Associations
(July 2014)

Buy-in from a set of policy champions from among key stakeholder groups to promote bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh in HYV rice seeds
(July 2014)

Means of Verification:
1. Endorsement of a memorandum on policy and practice changes by these stakeholders to make a case for bilateral knowledge-sharing and HYV rice seeds trade between India and Bangladesh
2. Media articles by select policy champions
3. Formation of a joint subject expert group by IBCCI and Seed Associations

Objective 3:Influence changes to policies and practices to facilitate formalisation and expansion of bilateral trade and knowledge-sharing on HYV rice seeds between Bangladesh and India

Evidence-based outreach meetings in the respective capital of four Eastern Indian states by CUTS and project partners in Eastern Indian states
(April – June 2014)

(The agenda of these meetings will be focused on the overall Goal, Objectives and Outcomes of the project, particularly the Outcomes vis-à-vis Objective 3 of the project.)
 

Inclusion of rice seeds trade in the agenda of the India-Bangladesh joint task force on bilateral trade(April 2014)

(Milestones vis-à-vis these Outcomes depend on various other factors which are not under the control of CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh. Therefore, these milestones will be revised as the project implementation progresses. It may be that CUTS and its project partner in Bangladesh will have to do some specific activities, other than those defined in this Results Framework, to address these milestones and some of those activities may have to be done before the mentioned time period vis-à-vis Objective 3 – in other words, some of those activities may take place anytime during July 2013 to September 2014.)