No scarcity of seeds, fertilizers: Minister BC Patil

Mysuru: Agriculture Minister BC Patil has instructed his officials to ensure adequate supply of seeds and fertilizers to farmer in district. He convened a meeting here on Wednesday with officials ahead of monsoon.

Patil assured that there was no scarcity of seeds in district and directed officials to book traders creating artificial scarcity. Officials told the minister that there was a demand for 39,789 quintals of seeds while the district had a stock of 45,275 quintals.

Karnataka State Raitha Sangha president Badagalapura Nagendra urged the minister to constitute a committee to assess the losses incurred by farmers during lockdown. In a memorandum submitted to Patil, he said that farmers incurred loss of more than one lakh crore rupees owing to lockdown. "They are destroying crops in agriculture fields themselves because they are not getting price for their produce," he told the minister and sought removal of GST and SGST on agricultural equipments. He said farmers did not receive Pradhan Mantri Phasal Bima Yojana benefit. He also urged the State government to announce a financial aid of Rs 10,000 to each farmer.