Spurious seeds sold in Telangana mostly come from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjanreddy said.
Roads coming from Karnataka, Kurnool, Gadwala, Guntur, Prakasam, Asifabad, Bellampally and Gujarat via Zaheerabad should be monitored to check this, he said.
It is estimated that 18 lakh quintals of seeds will be required for cotton, chillies, pulses and paddy crops during the Vanakalam season.
A video conference was held at the Dr BR Ambedkar Secretariat conference hall to check the availability of seeds for monsoon cultivation, seed control and fake seeds. It was attended by Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, DGP Anjani Kumar, Agriculture Secretary Raghunandan Rao, and Hyderabad Commissioner of Police CV Anand.
“Traders and seed dealers should be given the time and opportunity to correct minor errors and mistakes found in the field without being harsh. Telangana provides 60 per cent of the seeds in the country. The importance of this sector should be kept in mind,” he said.
“In a competitive world, private companies have the upper hand in the production of seeds. The responsibility of controlling them is with the Central and state governments. The menace of spurious seeds should be absolutely checked. Strict action should be taken against those responsible for supplying fake seeds. Compared to the past, fake seeds have almost disappeared. The task force should work in coordination with the Department of Agriculture,” Niranjan said.
The Telangana government’s expenditure on agriculture in the last nine years is Rs 4500 billion. The Telangana government has spent Rs 4,500 billion in the last nine years to supply free electricity, crop procurement, farmer bandhu, farmer insurance, irrigation, seeds, fertilizer subsidy, agricultural mechanization and crop rotation.
