ADILABAD: The hopes of farmers in the erstwhile Adilabad district seem to be shattered because of spurious cotton and soya seeds. Farmers who have sown cotton and soya this season in anticipation of a high market price appear to have given up on getting good price for their crop. Some paddy farmers even switched to cotton during this Kharif season in the hopes of getting a decent price for their crop.
Small and marginal farmers seem to be hard hit due to the fake cotton and soya seeds, which are spread throughout rural and tribal areas. In the Adilabad district alone, cotton farming is anticipated to grow by 30,000–40,000 acres this Kharif.
It is learnt that some small and marginal farmers reportedly bought cotton seeds from intermediaries and agents. These fake cotton seeds were brought into Adilabad district from Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Even some of the manufacturers of pesticides and fertilizers had fake cotton seeds hidden in specific locations.
Many small and marginal farmers have voiced complaints about the cotton and soya they had sown in their fields not germinating. Farmers claim that the soy seeds in Manyarpur, Takli in Bela mandal, Tantoli, Yapalguda, and Kachkanti in Adilabad mandal, as well as Kapri- Karanji in Jainadmandal and Jainad headquarters, have not yet sprouted. They claim that while other lots of the identical Vikranti Soya business seeds grew, other lots of soy seed bags did not.
On Sunday, Congress representatives led by TPCC state general secretary Gandrath Sujatha met CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and informed him that many small and marginal farmers in Adilabad had experienced losses due to the absence of germination of soya seeds
Congress leaders asked Bhatti Vikramarka to bring up the subject of fake seeds, poor germination, how farmers suffered a loss, and how to obtain compensation for the farmers during the upcoming Assembly session. Congress leaders Vedma Bojju and Charulatha Rathod, on the other hand, visited the agricultural fields where farmers had complained about the cotton seeds' poor germination in the Utnoor mandal.
