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Increase in seed price for ravi crop worries farmers

BERHAMPUR: Increase in the price of seeds has worried the farmers attempting a second crop during the ravi season.

Usually the farmers prefer to take up cultivation of short term crop like oil seeds and pulses after the harvest of paddy of kharif season.

In Ganjam district the farmers prefer to sow moong and ground nut during the Ravi season as the second crop of the year after paddy.

But this year the price of seeds has been increased.

As per the farmers the price of ground nut seeds has increased by almost Rs. 6 per kilogram.

The agricultural officials said this increase in price was made to avoid misuse of seeds provided to farmers at subsidised rate.

They allege that seeds meant for cultivation were being sold in market for consumers.

An increase in price of seeds would prevent their sell for other purpose, they say.

But Biswanath Biswal, vice president of the BJP Krushak Morcha said this increase in price of seeds would affect the genuine farmers.

He demanded the State Government to use agricultural officials to identify the genuine farmers, so that these farmers could be provided some sops like phosphate and sulphide fertilizers if the prices of seeds are increased for the ravi season.

The Morcha has already approached the State Government about it.

The morcha alleged that large scale vacancies of grass root level workers of the Agriculture Department has led to this problem of sell of seeds meant for agriculture as food material in the market.

Mr Biswal also added that lack of proper number of employees in the horticulture department has also hampered the progress of horticulture mission in Ganjam district.

“Although this district is included in the Central plan, lack of awareness about it prevails among the peasants due to lack of proper number of staff related to the project,” he said.

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