Among the cereal crops grown in Bangladesh,
rice occupies about 79.4 per cent of the total
cultivable land and dominates the cropping
pattern throughout the country. Rice based
cropping pattern dominates throughout the
country since almost 90 percent people are rice
eaters. Rice contributes to over 63 percent of the
caloric intake for urban consumers and over 71
percent for the rural population. The percentages
are much higher among the poor (Anonymous,
2003). Increasing supply of quality seed is an
appropriate strategy for ensuring food security.
Use of quality seed can increase productivity of
almost all the crops. Seed plays a two-way role,
production is affected due to inferior quality of
seed and economic loss is incurred due to misuse