Growers oppose hike in seed processing cost by Odisha State Seeds Corporation

The farmers of the State sustained a loss of Rs 588 per quintal during the 2018-19 kharif marketing season as per the State Government’s estimate.
Image used for representational purpose only (File | PTI)
Image used for representational purpose only (File | PTI)

BHUBANESWAR: The decision of Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) to levy higher processing charges on certified paddy and non-paddy seeds collected has been strongly opposed by registered seed growers of the State.

In the Board of Directors meeting held on June 25, the State-run corporation decided to enhance the seed processing charges from Rs 15 to Rs 25 per quintal. The decision came at a time when all political parties, including the BJD, have been demanding higher support price for a common variety of paddy.
As per the State Government estimate, the cost of production of a common variety of paddy for 2018-19 was Rs 2,403 per quintal. However, OSSC fixed the price of certified paddy seeds at Rs 2,187 per quintal. This is despite the fact the farmers incur an additional operational cost of about Rs 500 per quintal for production of certified seeds.

Registering protest against the decision to hike processing fee, Director representing farmers in the OSSC Board Ashok Kumar Baral urged the Corporation to withdraw the decision as this will hit the farmers’ interest.

Raising the issue in the recently held annual general body meeting of OSSC, Baral moved a resolution demanding complete withdrawal of the processing charges from the farmers as the cost of production of certified seeds fixed by the State Seed Pricing Committee is admittedly well below the actual cost.
Farmers, who had supplied paddy seeds to OSSC during Kharif-2018 had sustained a loss of Rs 215 per quintal taking the average cost of production to Rs 2,403 per quintal for a common variety of paddy. The loss will be more than Rs 700 per quintal if the seed production cost is fixed at Rs 2,900 per quintal, Baral said.

The farmers of the State sustained a loss of Rs 588 per quintal during the 2018-19 Kharif marketing season as per the State Government’s estimate. The MSP fixed by the Centre for kharif-2018 was Rs 1,815 per quintal.

“We fail to understand why the farmers have to pay seed processing cost when the State is providing a corpus of Rs 100 crore for procurement of certified seeds from farmers who have registered with the Corporation,” he wondered.

Responding to a question from BJD MLA Prafulla Samal in the Budget session, Agriculture Minister Arun Sahu said the cost of certified paddy seed is fixed by the State Seed Pricing Committee by taking into consideration the MSP fixed by the Centre and cost of paddy seeds in the open market.

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