VIJAYAWADA: With substandard seeds being sold in the market, the agrarian community is becoming more prone to making losses and being driven to suicides. In the districts, the seed merchants have been enticing farmers with fake seed packets which resemble branded ones at lower prices.
A Rangarao, president of AP Tenant Farmers Association, said, “It has been a traditional practice to dupe innocent farmers with adulterated seeds packed in a colourful bags. The potentiality of seeds cannot be assessed at the initial stages, and will be revealed only at the final stage of the crop.” He added that officials should collect seed samples and send them to labs to get the quality tested before reaching the farmers. He suggested that the law enforcing authorities along with Agriculture department officials have to clamp down on unauthorised seed processing units.
With favourable weather conditions, there is more demand for seeds of paddy, cotton, and maize, which are more vulnerable to adulteration. The illegal trading of adulterated seeds is spelling catastrophe for farmers in the State.
Joint Director of Agriculture KV Rama Rao said the department has a target of collecting 7,880 samples for this year. He claimed that the officials have already collected 4,229 samples across the State, out of which only 33 were identified as substandard. He said, “If anyone is caught adulterating seeds, the government will take stringent action against him.”