VIJAYAWADA: Hoping to recoup the losses he incurred during the Kharif season as his yield was poor, V Raja Rao, a marginal farmer from Mulapalem village of Bapatla mandal in Guntur district, cultivated BPT 5204 variety of paddy during Rabi.
However, he never thought that even this short duration crop would fail to bear fruit. Raja Rao, along with several other farmers from Guntur district and some parts of Telangana, were banking on this variety of paddy.
“By this time, the crop should have reached its flowering stage, but it still remains immature. I was worried, so were other farmers in the region who cultivated the same variety. Just a few days ago, we got back in touch with the Bapatla Agricultural College Farm, from where we had received the seed. We were shocked when we were told that the problems lay with the type of seed itself,” he said.
Raja Rao was annoyed when he found out that what he had sown was not the BPT 5204 paddy, but its BPT 2270 variety, which takes 25-28 more days for harvest.
He had raised the variety in his own two acres and in another five acres he took on lease.Raja Rao, just like other farmers, had preferred the paddy considering availability of sufficient water. He hoped to have sufficient water for irrigation during its last phase.
“Release of water from canals will be stopped as per the schedule and we may not be able to provide another two-three wetting sessions needed for the crop in its last 15 days. We hope we are able to. If not, we may suffer losses as the yield may turn out to be much less than the normal,” Jayaprasad, another farmer from Bapatla, said.
It was then that the worried farmers lodged complaints with the Agriculture Department seeking government’s intervention into the matter.“We have received complaints from 83 farmers so far. We are collating the data and will send it to the higher-ups,” Bapatla agriculture officer Saradha said.
Further, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has pulled up officials concerned for the blunder made while packing one variety of seed with the name of the other, which has caused distress among ryots. He directed them to initiate action against those responsible for the mistake and take measures to help affected farmers.
When contacted by TNIE, Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University Registrar Bhaskar Rao said based on the report of a committee constituted to look into the complaints, seven employees were suspended.
“We found lapses in packing of seeds. Instead of one variety, another variety was packed. Another committee has been formed to assess the damage caused and we are expecting a report in another 2-3 days,” he explained.
Around 39 metric tonnes of the seed was distributed and the crop was cultivated in around 3,000 acres.
Farmers said they had invested up to Rs 25,000 per acre and prayed they get the desired yield, even if it was delayed.