BERHAMPUR: With onset of monsoon, farmers across Ganjam district are gearing up to sow paddy saplings.
However, inadequate supply of seeds and fertiliser has emerged as a cause of concern for them.
Agricultural activities in the district have already been delayed due to late arrival of monsoon.
Even as some farmers have already sown saplings which they had preserved earlier, majority of them depend on the Agriculture department for their needs.
Simanchal Nahak of Rushikulya Rayat Mahasabha said the district had received scanty rainfall last month and this had delayed the initial agricultural work.
The Agriculture department has set a target to cultivate paddy on 2.16 lakh hectare in the district during the current kharif season.
Farmers said premonsoon showers play a vital role in agriculture operations. The seeds sown on large tracts of farmlands were damaged during germination due to shortage of water.
Nahak said black marketing of seeds continues unabated due to lack of its proper distribution.
He said certified paddy seeds of different varieties are supplied by the Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) to farmers through multipurpose cooperative societies and Government approved private dealers.
But the private dealers and the cooperative societies have failed in distributing the seeds to the farmers as a result of which they are forced to buy seeds from unauthorised dealers at inflated prices.