TIRUPPUR: Several farmers claimed that the agriculture department (Tiruppur) supplied substandard quality groundnut seeds in Uthukuli in Tiruppur district.
According to records, over 630 farmers were supplied with bags (20 kg each) of groundnut seeds by the agriculture department (Tiruppur) in 20 villages in Uthukuli, including Pudur Pallapalayam, Kunjithalapalayam, Kulavarpalayam, Chennipalayam, Thalapalayam, Chenniyampalayam, and Chennipalayam last month.
S Ramasamy, a farmer from Chennipalayam, told TNIE, "I sowed the seeds for a quarter of the acre and tilled and rearranged the soil using tractors, local fertilisers and other things, which cost Rs 5,000. But the seed didn't develop into a sapling as they were of substandard quality."
Tamil Nadu Milk Farmers Association (Tiruppur) secretary SK Kulanthaisamy said, "Not just these farmers, many farmers from villages across Uthukuli are upset as just two or three saplings were found in the entire spot, after even 20 days of planting the seeds. Besides, each bag of seeds had small stones and sand weighing 1 kg and the weight of the seeds was just 19 kg."
A top official from the agriculture department said, "We have received complaints from over 100 farmers in Uthukuli taluk alone. Besides, these seeds were distributed on an experimental basis and were supplied by National Seed Corporation (NSC) last month. We will be holding field inspections in a few days and will send a report to higher authorities on this issue."