Spurious seed traders seen trapping hapless peasants

​Jagtial: The agrarian community is trapped in the trawl net of sellers of spurious seeds. Traders and manufacturers make hay while the farmers register loses. The menace has begun once again with traders vending the substandard seeds in the district.

With the south-west monsoon favouring, the farmers launched agriculture operations. The sale of adulterated seeds is spelling doom for farmers. The wrongdoers are luring innocent peasants by making false promises.

In order to dispose of these spurious seeds imported from Maharashtra, the traders are coming with attractive seed packets. They are extensively touring villages to sell their products. They are trying to attract farmers by offering gifts along with their products.

The spurious seeds that are being imported from Maharashtra are reaching the district via Nizamabad. It is evident that the traders from Jagityal have good business relations in Maharashtra. Agriculture department officials stepped up vigil as both the original and spurious seeds are being imported from Maharashtra.

They started raids as the illegal business is going on even after several warnings. The officials are awestruck as they learnt that the subsidised seeds are being sold at higher prices along with spurious ones. The officials cancelled the licences of traders, who are selling subsidised seeds at high price. They recovered seeds and fertilisers worth Rs 18 lakh from the shops that didn’t possess licences.

Agriculture officer Bhagya Lakshmi warned stringent action against those selling spurious seeds. “Meetings have been held with traders regarding the issue. Raids have been conducted at several areas. Farmers have been asked to inform if they find anyone suspicious,” she added.