Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Private Limited) is an Indian seed company headquartered in Jalna, Maharashtra. It is engaged in the research, production, processing and marketing of hybrid and open-pollinated seeds for a wide range of field crops, vegetables and fruits cultivated in India and other countries.
| Name | Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Private Limited (Mahyco) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agricultural seeds and biotechnology |
| Founder | Badrinarayan Ramulal Barwale |
| Headquarters | Jalna, Maharashtra, India |
| Country | India |
Mahyco was founded by Badrinarayan Ramulal Barwale, an agriculturist from Maharashtra who is widely regarded as a pioneer of the organised seed industry in India. Barwale was awarded the World Food Prize in 1998 for his contributions to expanding the availability of quality seeds to Indian farmers. The company began as a small seed production initiative in the Marathwada region and grew into one of India's largest seed enterprises.
Mahyco operates across multiple segments of the seed value chain, including breeding, production, processing, quality assurance, and distribution. Its product portfolio covers crops such as cotton, paddy, wheat, maize, sorghum, pearl millet, sunflower, mustard, pulses, and a range of vegetables including tomato, okra, chilli, brinjal and gourds.
The company has invested in plant breeding research and has been associated with the development of hybrid varieties suited to Indian agro-climatic conditions. Mahyco also operates research stations, breeding farms and seed processing facilities in different parts of India.
Mahyco is associated with the introduction of biotechnology-based crop traits in India. Through Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Limited, a joint venture with Monsanto, the company sub-licensed Bollgard and Bollgard II Bt cotton technology to Indian seed companies. Bt cotton was approved for commercial cultivation in India in 2002 by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, and became the first genetically modified crop permitted for commercial use in the country.
The company also developed Bt brinjal, a genetically modified eggplant. In 2010, the Indian government placed a moratorium on the commercial release of Bt brinjal following public consultations, and the variety has not been commercialised in India.
Mahyco is considered one of the formative companies of the modern Indian seed industry. Its work contributed to the spread of hybrid seed adoption among Indian farmers and to the introduction of agricultural biotechnology in the country. The company has also been a recurring participant in public debates over genetically modified crops, intellectual property in seeds, and trait licensing arrangements in Indian cotton cultivation.