Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, addressing the officials on Friday, emphasised the need to stock seeds to meet the demand for the upcoming monsoon season.

On Friday, during a review of seed supply preparedness with senior officials from the agriculture and allied departments and representatives of the seed companies, he highlighted that, based on past experiences, attention must be given to the varieties in demand to avoid any complaints regarding seed quality from farmers.

The Minister noted that the government is aware of the losses suffered by farmers who produce seeds. He mentioned that some intermediaries acting as coordinators between seed companies and farmers are reportedly causing difficulties for the farmers regarding payments and pricing. In light of this, he urged the SeedsMen Association and company representatives to engage in discussions to finalise seed production agreements between the companies and farmers.

He emphasised the importance of ensuring timely payments for harvested seeds and compensation for improper harvests, warning that the government would take strict action against companies if complaints arose.

Furthermore, the Minister instructed agricultural officers to regularly monitor the seed companies within their jurisdictions to ensure the provision of quality seeds to farmers. He also cautioned that strict action would be taken against any negligent officials. He directed the officials to conduct awareness programmes at Rythu Vedikas regarding seed selection and purchasing. Additionally, he demanded action against sellers of unlabeled seeds in villages, coordinating efforts with the police department to enforce these measures.

During the meeting, company representatives inquired about the availability and yields of vegetable seeds in the state. They expressed the government’s commitment to expanding the area under vegetable cultivation and ensuring the availability of quality seeds.

Earlier, the Director of Agriculture, Gopi, reported that for the monsoon season of 2025, it is estimated that paddy will be cultivated over 66 lakh acres, maize over 6 lakh acres, cotton over 50 lakh acres, and soybean over 9 lakh acres. To support this, the need for 16.7 lakh quintals of paddy seeds, 48,000 quintals of maize, 89 lakh cotton packets, and 1.35 lakh quintals of soybean seeds has been projected.

With the anticipated increase in the cultivation of fine rice varieties, arrangements have been made to supply these seeds in large quantities. Regarding cotton, 2.4 crore seed packets will be made available, with clear instructions to companies to ensure a sufficient supply of in-demand cotton varieties according to specific districts and regions. Agriculture Secretary Raghunandan Rao, TG Seeds Chairman Anvesh Reddy, Seeds Director Yasmin Basha, representatives of the Seed Men Association, and various company representatives attended the meeting.