Is it possible to eradicate counter feit seeds and save the farmers?

Gadwal: The farmers of Nadigadda region are facing lots of problems in farming practices like fake seeds, counterfeit pesticides,and looting of organizers.

Seed mafia in Nadigadda involved in illicit activities related to seed trade ,such as selling fake or low quality seeds, unauthorised duplication and distribution of patented seeds ,or manipulating seed markets for their profit through unfair practices. Such activities can have detrimental effects on farmers, agricultural productivity, and the overall agriculture sector.

Seed rust has become a scourge of farmers .It is enough that the rainy season starts ,they extort hundreds of crores of rupees with fake cotton seeds without much ado.

Hundreds of quintals of seeds caught in raids of the task force every year,even though cases are registered against those responsible...this seed smuggling is not stopping .Limitation is on the raise due to flaws in the Seed Act and political influence.Who will stop these gangs,? Searches on behalf of the task force did not yield results.? Did not the Agriculture department study indepth ??? with the arrival of Kharif season once again these questions are arising.

The Agriculture department prepare plans to cultivate 70 lakh acres across the state during the monsoon season.Farmers are gearing up to cultivate white gold on a large scale this year. If a farmer purchase 2 packets for one acre there is a demand of 1 crore 40 lakhs packets . Using this the scammers will loot crores of rupees.

The price of cotton seeds is 700 to 750 in the open market.That means the purchases will be made up to 1000 crores.The illegals are turning this need into their opportunities.Attempts are being made to supply the farmers with seeds that have failed G O T tests ,inferior, expired seeds and banned BT seeds.90 cases in a month trade in counter feit seeds Is common in Erstwhile Mahaboob Nagar, Nizamabad,Ranga Reddy,Adilabad and Medak.

Large quantity of fake cotton seeds are being seized in the raids of the task force recently seized a large scale of fake seeds in Hyderabad.

Due to lack of surveillance of the authorities in the areas it is becoming a boon for the fraudsters .With a trust in the brokers even if yield is low ,there are no complaints.Brokers are careful in advance not to give any receipts and certificates for the purchased seeds.A situation where a farmer can not complain to any one even if they suffer any losses.

While 20 companies are cultivating cotton seeds in Gadwal district only 7 companies have given information to agriculture department .A bout 40 thousand Farmers cultivate seed cotton in an area of 40 to 45 thousand acres annually.More than one and half million seed packets are produced from grass and an annual business of 1000 crores done here, while there is no information about the failed seeds.

There is no supervision of the Agriculture department on what they have done in terms of Seed production .Its impact at the district level is minimal and it is causing the illegal trade of cotton seeds in the district.

According to the rules ,the companies producing cotton seeds should submit the details in advance to the state agriculture department and district agriculture department officials about , which farmers ,how many acres,and what type of seed they are cultivating.The seed produced by the farmers should be tested for quality .And failed seeds should be converted in to scrap.But the companies are not directly giving seeds directly to the farmers, except to the organisers.

So the farmers should aware of that where were they produced ?Where was cleaned and when was packed? And also check the genetic purity, seedling percentage,expiry date,and company details .A receipt must be taken while Purchasing seeds.

There is demand from the farmers that the Agriculture department should be focused on giving foundation seeds and returning failed seeds to the farmers.Now the farmers urged the government to ensure appropriate measures to eradicate illicit seed mafia and save them from evitable losses.

The farmers in Nadi gadda are questioning the officials that is it possible to eradicate the counterfeit seeds and spurious pesticides in Gadwal District???