HYDERABAD: Making it clear that there are enough cotton seeds available in the State to grow cotton crop across 65 lakh acres in the coming Kharif season as per the targets set, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy on Tuesday warned anyone hoarding seeds to create an artificial scarcity to hike the prices would face strict action.
“The dealership of those dealing with such companies will be cancelled,” the Minister said in a media statement.Niranjan said that while the requirement for cotton seeds is 58,500 quintals in Kharif 2023-24, the availability is a whopping 77,500 quintals.
Informing that farmers use BG11 hybrid variety of cotton seed, he said that all companies develop the same variety, for which the Centre has set Rs 853 as the price of a 450 gm packet. He added that though the Centre sets a price, control of prices is in the domain of the State governments.
Observing that the department has got the wind of some greedy companies exploiting the farmers, Niranjan directed officials to swiftly act on the complaints and take necessary action.