The State government is planning to come up with an ordinance prior to the enactment of a legislation mandating seed companies to compensate 100 per cent for crop loss due to supply of spurious seeds, said Agricultural Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.
The ordinance, aimed at making seed companies more accountable towards farmers, envisages booking criminal cases against those supplying fake and spurious seeds.
The minister while addressing a seed certification workshop here on Friday said the ordinance would be issued after the next cabinet meeting. He said a draft of the new seed Act has already been prepared and would be sent to the Governor soon. The legislation for the new seed Act would be introduced in the next Assembly session, he said .
The minister said the new Act will have provisions of the PD Act and those supplying fake and spurious seeds would be booked under the PD Act first and later they would be made to compensate for the loss to the farmers.
Mr Srinivas Reddy said Telangana caters to almost 70 per cent of the seeds supplied in the country and the State exports seeds to nearly 40 foreign countries. In view of the potential, it was decided to turn the State into the seed bowl of the country by encouraging farmers.
Free supply of seed, fertilizer and power were some of the new initiatives by the State government. Telangana has been spending ₹1,000 crore on drip irrigation implements to farmers in 1.26 lakh hectares. “There are fertile lands in Telangana. However, due to supply of fake and spurious seeds, the government is getting bad name. We want to stop it and hence the ordinance and subsequent legislation,” the agricultural minister said.
A new seed certification centre is being set up in Hyderabad to cater to the needs of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Jharkand states. A total of 40 officers were appointed and a new building is being constructed at a cost of ₹6 crore.
Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari and Tribal Welfare Minister A Chandulal said the farmers were distressed mainly due to fake and spurious seeds. They should only buy certified seeds and always ask for receipt from the seller, they added.
