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AyRojgar

Vegetable seed production

Growing seed, not vegetables. BADC's 2026-27 schedule prices bottle gourd seed at Tk 1,050 a kg, tomato at Tk 2,600 and hybrid tomato at Tk 26,000 — and selling it needs a seed dealer registration costing Tk 2,000.

  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Version 1
Vegetable seed production

Vegetable seed production

Starting capital
৳50,000 – ৳5,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
2 – 10 people
First sale
150 – 300 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
5 – 18 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Farm · Hard

About the business

The crop here is not the vegetable but its seed. The fruit is left on the plant to ripen instead of being picked, then the seed is extracted and dried. It sells for many times what the vegetable does. BADC's notice of 17 August 2026 sets the 2026-27 rates: per kg to a farmer, truthfully labelled, tomato Tk 2,600, cucumber Tk 2,300, bitter gourd Tk 1,850, sweet gourd Tk 1,400, bottle gourd Tk 940, snake gourd Tk 880, Indian spinach Tk 580, okra Tk 350, spinach Tk 315 and garden pea Tk 290. Hybrid is another world: BARI Hybrid Tomato 8 at Tk 26,000 a kg to a farmer, hybrid bitter gourd and sweet gourd at Tk 14,000-14,300. But this is not an open trade. Rule 10 of the Seed Rules 2020 requires a seed dealer registration to produce or sell seed: Form-8, a Tk 2,000 treasury challan under code 1-4338-0000-2681, plus an up-to-date trade licence and a recommendation from the District Seed Certification Officer. Renewal is another Tk 2,000, with a Tk 500 late fee if it is not filed within three months of expiry. One thing works in the grower's favour: only five crops are notified under the seed law, namely rice, wheat, jute, potato and sugarcane. Vegetables are outside it, so certification is not compulsory and the seed can be sold truthfully labelled. If you do certify, seed testing costs Tk 25 for purity, Tk 50 for germination and Tk 25 for moisture per sample with results in 32-35 working days, and certification tags cost Tk 2 each and take 40-60 working days to come.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳10,000 – ৳1,00,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳250 – ৳2,600 / kgOfficial source
Variable cost৳66 – ৳1,560 / kgEditorial estimate
Gross margin40% – 74%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue150 – 300 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time5 – 18 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle100 – 180 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss5% – 25%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity1 – 120Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A moisture meter, sieves or a blower for cleaning seed, scales, and containers and labels for packing. On certified seed, a Tk 2 certification tag on every packet or bag.Equipment
  • Foundation seed at BADC's 2026-27 rates to a farmer or institution, per kg: tomato Tk 2,600, cucumber 2,400, ash gourd 2,000, bitter gourd 1,950, sweet gourd 1,680, bottle gourd 1,050, snake gourd 1,100, stem amaranth 650, Indian spinach 640, yardlong bean 590, okra 410, spinach 350, garden pea 290.Starting stock
  • Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: form Tk 10, standard tax Tk 30, licence book Tk 50, non-judicial stamp Tk 150-300 where required, in 3-5 working days. It is a compulsory attachment to the seed dealer registration, so it comes first. Trading without one draws Tk 5,000 the first time and Tk 500 a day after.Licence
  • Seed dealer registration on Form-8 under rule 10(1) of the Seed Rules 2020, addressed to the Director General, Seed Wing, or the Secretary of the National Seed Board at the Ministry of Agriculture. Fee Tk 2,000 by treasury challan under code 1-4338-0000-2681. The seed production box must be ticked under type of work.Licence
  • Renewal on Form-9 under rule 10(6): Tk 2,000 by treasury challan, plus a Tk 500 late fee if filed more than three months after expiry, with the original registration certificate and a copy of the national ID.Licence
  • Knowing how to rogue, that is recognising the variety's characteristics and pulling out off-types before they flower; knowing the isolation distances that stop insect crossing; and understanding seed moisture and germination. Without these three the lot fails.Skill
  • A recommendation from the District Seed Certification Officer, a compulsory attachment to the seed dealer registration. A private firm must also attach a Bangladesh Seed Association membership certificate.Supplier
  • A separate plot for the seed crop, isolated from other fields of the same crop; space to extract and wash seed; a paved floor for shade drying; and a dry, ventilated store where the seed will not pick up moisture.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide the route. There are three: become a BADC contract grower multiplying foundation seed, contract with a private seed company, or sell truthfully labelled seed under your own name. The paperwork, the risk and the price differ for each.
  2. 2Get the trade licence first. An up-to-date copy is a compulsory attachment to Form-8 for seed dealer registration; without it the application will not even be accepted.
  3. 3Go to the District Seed Certification Officer and get the recommendation for registration as a seed dealer. It is another compulsory attachment to Form-8, and it is where the field inspection relationship starts.
  4. 4Pay Tk 2,000 by treasury challan under code 1-4338-0000-2681. The original challan goes with Form-8. The application is addressed to the Director General, Seed Wing, or the Secretary of the National Seed Board at the Ministry of Agriculture. Tick the seed production box in the type of work.
  5. 5Choose the variety and buy foundation seed. BADC's 2026-27 foundation rates to a farmer are tomato Tk 2,600, cucumber Tk 2,400, bitter gourd Tk 1,950 and bottle gourd Tk 1,050. Certified or truthfully labelled seed is multiplied from foundation seed; you cannot make seed from seed bought off the market.
  6. 6Keep the seed plot separate and away from other fields of the same crop. Sweet gourd, cucumber, bitter gourd and bottle gourd are insect-pollinated; a neighbouring variety crossing in ruins the purity and the lot fails.
  7. 7Rogue the field: pull out every plant that does not match the variety, before it flowers. On the certified route this is exactly what the District Seed Certification Office looks at on its field inspection, and without a field certificate there is no sample test later.
  8. 8Let the fruit ripen fully on the plant, then extract, wash and shade-dry the seed. This is the whole difference between growing a vegetable and growing seed: you let the selling window for the vegetable pass, so you give up that income.
  9. 9Measure the moisture before bagging. Seed with too much moisture loses germination within months and then it is not seed any more. The Seed Certification Agency charges Tk 25 a sample for a moisture test.
  10. 10On the certified route, offer the lot. The District Seed Certification Officer takes a sample to the laboratory; fees are Tk 25 for purity, Tk 50 for germination and Tk 25 for moisture per sample, by treasury challan, with results in 32-35 working days. A retest after a failure is Tk 500.
  11. 11File the tag requisition. Certification tags cost Tk 2 each by treasury challan and take 40-60 working days to supply. Both the field inspection and the laboratory result must be in before tags go on, and that wait has to be planned for.
  12. 12Renew the registration each financial year on Form-9, another Tk 2,000 by treasury challan. Applying more than three months after expiry adds a Tk 500 late fee. A private firm also needs a Bangladesh Seed Association membership certificate.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarHigh
  4. AprHigh
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunNormal
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepHigh
  10. OctHigh
  11. NovHigh
  12. DecNormal
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitBogura · Has a district seed certification office, and being dense vegetable country puts both demand and supply for seed close at hand.
  • Strong fitGazipur · The Seed Certification Agency's headquarters, with the central seed laboratory, the variety testing laboratory and a 12-acre control farm. Sample testing, DUS and grow-out tests all run from here.
  • Strong fitJashore · One of BADC's six seed marketing zonal offices; the price notices reach dealers through it, and the seed trade here is long established.
  • Strong fitRajshahi · A BADC seed marketing zonal office, which also issues the seed dealer licence renewal notices; dealers and contract growers are thick on the ground.
  • Strong fitThakurgaon · A BADC seed production centre, with many years of foundation seed and contract multiplication work behind it.
  • PossibleChattogram · A BADC seed marketing zonal office and a regional seed laboratory, convenient for summer vegetable seed.
  • PossibleDhaka · BADC's head office and a seed marketing zonal office; the seed dealer registration application also goes to the Ministry of Agriculture here.
  • PossibleDinajpur · Long-standing BADC seed territory and a big winter vegetable belt, so land for a seed crop is easy to find.
  • PossibleKurigram · Has a BADC district seed marketing office that publishes the year's seed price lists, so rates and allocations are within reach.
  • PossiblePabna · Has a district seed certification office, so offering lots and collecting tags does not mean travelling far.
  • PossibleSylhet · A BADC seed marketing zonal office, though vegetable seed growing is thinner here.
  • Weak fitBarishal · Has a BADC zonal office and a district seed certification office, but the damp weather makes drying seed and holding moisture down difficult.

Risks and cautions

  • HighCompliance: Seed cannot be sold without registration, and the registration must be renewed every year. The Seed Certification Agency runs market monitoring and mobile courts against breaches of the seed law and rules. Three months' delay in renewing costs Tk 500, and without registration the business itself is illegal.
  • HighOther: One failed lot takes the whole season's price with it. Seed that misses the germination or purity standard cannot be sold as seed at all and goes out as ordinary produce, so tomato seed worth Tk 2,600 a kg becomes nothing. The cause is usually one of two: crossing with another variety in a neighbouring field, or rogueing not done properly.
  • HighLate payment: On the certified route the money sits still for months. Results take 32-35 working days after the lot is offered, then tags take 40-60 working days, and until the tags arrive the seed cannot be sold as certified — while it sits in the store losing germination day by day.
  • HighDependency: The hybrid market is effectively closed. BARI Hybrid Tomato 8 seed is Tk 26,000 a kg, but making hybrid seed needs two parent lines and those sit with the companies. A small operator cannot make their own hybrid, and releasing an own variety costs Tk 470,000 for VCU trials at ten locations over 365 days.
  • MediumWorking capital: A seed crop gives up the vegetable income from the same fruit. Leaving bottle gourd or cucumber on the plant to ripen for seed means it can never be sold as a vegetable, and the seed money arrives another month or six weeks later. That opens a hole in income in the middle of the season.
  • MediumDemand: Because vegetables are not a notified crop, anyone can sell truthfully labelled seed, so poor seed circulates and a farmer cheated once does not come back. Reputation is the capital here and one season of bad germination ends it.

Sources

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Stories about this business

What workedAn onion seed producer in Mohanpur, Rajshahi, in a Prothom Alo report

29 tonnes of onion seed a year, grown by 350 farmers across 14 districts

Pulled out of school in class seven, this farmer has been 32 years in seed: six hybrid onion varieties of his own naming, 29 metric tons produced last year against a target of 40.

Reasons
Strong network, Good quality

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