Hyderabad: Spurious seeds have taken a toll on crops across the state even as brimming reservoirs and tanks raised hopes of a bumper agricultural production this year. Farmers in Adilabad, Ranga Reddy, Khammam, Warangal and Nalgonda districts, who sowed cotton and chilli, were in for a rude shock as the crops failed to flower even after two or three months.
Protests by irate farmers rocked these districts forcing the state government to send inquiry teams which collected samples and discovered rampant selling of spurious seeds. By the time the government woke up, the farmers had suffered heavy losses. “We have directed agriculture department officials to book criminal cases against seed companies. The government will also ensure that the farmers are paid adequate compensation by the seed companies,” said agriculture minister P. Srinivas Reddy. Preliminary assessment has revealed that chilli farmers were the worst hit. This year, a large number of farmers opted for chilli as there were good returns last year due to the high price. The crop was sown over 1.4 lakh acres this year. The seed companies exploited this.
Agriculture secretary C. Parthasarathi said, “A majority of the complaints were received from these three districts. Inquiry teams have been deputed to these districts. Once we receive the reports, we will initiate stringent action against the seed companies.” Officials estimate that 25,000 tonnes of spurious chilli seeds were sold to farmers which resulted in loss to crops worth Rs 500 crore.
