Fake Soya & Cotton Seeds To Hit Small and Marginal Farmers

Because of fake cotton and soya seeds, the hopes of farmers in the erstwhile Adilabad district appear to be dashed. It appears that farmers who sowed cotton and soya this season in hope of a high market price have given up on earning a fair price for their produce. In an effort to get a fair price for their product during this Kharif season, several paddy farmers even shifted to cotton.

The spread of fake cotton and soya seeds throughout rural and tribal areas appears to be particularly hard for small and marginal farmers. This Kharif, cotton farming is expected to increase by 30,000–40,000 acres just in the Adilabad district.

According to information, some small and marginal farmers purportedly purchased cotton seeds from middlemen and agents. These counterfeit cotton seeds came from Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra and were smuggled into the Adilabad district. Even some pesticide and fertiliser manufacturers had fake cotton seeds stashed away in specified places.

There have been numerous complaints from small and marginal farmers about the cotton and soy they had sowed in their fields not sprouting. The soy seeds, according to farmers, have not yet germinated in Manyarpur, Takli in Bela mandal, Tantoli, Yapalguda, and Kachkanti in Adilabad mandal, as well as Kapri- Karanji in Jainadmandal and Jainad headquarters. According to them, certain lots of the same Vikranti Soya Business seeds grew, but not all of the soy seed bags.

Congress representatives met with CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday under the supervision of TPCC state general secretary Gandrath Sujatha, and informed him that many small and marginal farmers in Adilabad had suffered losses as a result of the soya seeds' failure to germinate.

During the forthcoming Assembly session, Congress leaders tasked Bhatti Vikramarka with bringing up the issues of fraudulent seeds, poor germination, how farmers lost money, and how to secure compensation for the farmers. On the other hand, Congress leaders Vedma Bojju and Charulatha Rathod went to the fields where farmers had complained about the low germination of cotton seeds in the Utnoor mandal.