On Tuesday, commission chairman M. Kodanda Reddy held a review meeting to discuss the failure of the maize crops in tribal agricultural fields in Mulugu district
WARANGAL: Several farmers used hybrid maize seeds from multi-national companies but saw their yields drop in Mulugu district. Following this, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed Telangana Agricultural and Farmers Welfare Commission to take immediate action and ensure compensation for the affected farmers.
On Tuesday, commission chairman M. Kodanda Reddy held a review meeting to discuss the failure of the maize crops in tribal agricultural fields in Mulugu district. Present at the meeting was S. Anvesh Reddy, chairman of the Telangana Seed Development Corporation along with Ramulu Naik, Ram Reddy, Gangadhar, Narasimha Reddy and Venkanna Yadav.
District agricultural officer V. Suresh Kumar outlined the steps taken after the failure of maize crops became apparent. In line with the directives from the state government, samples of maize plants were collected and sent to the DNA fingerprint lab in Hyderabad.
Following the orders of agriculture minister Tummala Nagesawara Rao, officers from the Seed Certification Agency visited the affected fields on March 12 and 13 and submitted their findings to the minister. Scientists from the Dot Centre, led by Dilip Kumar, investigated the reasons behind the low productivity of the crops and submitted their report to the government.
A special committee comprising district agricultural officer and rural development officer conducted field visits to further investigate the issue.
They found that 959 farmers suffered losses due to the crop failure. Based on these findings, a meeting was organised where representatives from seed companies and farmers' organisations discussed about the compensations.
The meeting also addressed concerns about the high-interest loans being provided to farmers by unauthoried lenders. Proposals were made to take action against those involved in predatory lending practices.
Additionally, a committee under the district medical and health officer will assess the health impact of the maize crops on farmers.
Chairman M. Kodanda Reddy assured farmers that the government is committed to their welfare and outlined short-term and long-term solutions to address the current crisis.
