Mahbubanagar: Officials told to keep an eye on fake seed sellers

Mahbubanagar : The district administration is contemplating to take strict action against the spurious and fake seed sellers in the district.

As the rainy season is about to begin from next month, district Collector G Ravi Nayak directed the Agricultural and Marketing departments to keep a strict vigil against fake seed sellers, dealers and agencies and ensure that the farmers are not duped by the unscrupulous elements.

The district Collector was taking part in a review with the district officials on the preparedness of the agricultural and marketing departments so that there is adequate supply of quality seeds and fertiliser available at affordable prices. The Collector stressed on the fake seed sellers menace in the district.

“Even though the district has not witnessed any major case relating to spurious seed supply in the district, we do not want to take any chances and have directed the agriculture department to be vigil and do a continuous surveillance of the seed sellers and seed supplying agencies during this monsoon-2023 cultivation season and taken stern action against them if any one of them is found duping the farmers,” said the collector.

In fact, the district administration was alerted by the Agriculture Minister Singireddy Nirinajna Reddy through a video conference with the district Collectors, Superintendent of Police and district agriculture officers, and instructed them to take all precautionary measures to ensure that there is no fake seed menace in the state.

In view of this, the Collector also decided to see that there is regular surveillance and enhanced vigilance activities to keep the fake seed sellers at bay in the district.

In Mahabubanagar, there are around 300 seed distrusting agencies and all these agencies are under regular surveillance and constantly undergoing inspections by task force teams formed by the officials from agriculture and police departments.

The district collector specifically directed the concurred police departments of all the mandals to coordinate and form inspecting teams along with agriculture officials and conduct inspections regularly so as to keep the fake seed sellers at bay.