Pattamundai: Farmers under this block in Kendrapara district have been pushed into distress as panicles have appeared nearly a fortnight after they transplanted paddy saplings, a report said Sunday.
Shocked over the development, farmers have apprised officials in the local agriculture office of the matter and the officials have promised to undertake a spot visit to review the situation.
Farmers alleged that the seed shops have cheated them because they were not aware of the seed varieties.
Santosh Padhi, a farmer of Beltala village under Pattamundai municipality limits said that he had visited the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS) to purchase government-approved seeds for cultivation on his 2 acre farmland. However, he was forced to buy from the local shops after seeds were not available at the PACS.
The seeds which he had bought from the local shops failed to sprout. He thought it might be due to scanty rainfall and again bought and planted seeds on his farmland. The seeds grew into saplings and he transplanted them on his farmland.
However, much to his surprise the saplings started flowering within a fortnight of their transplantation. He said that it takes at least four and half months for the saplings to flower but flowers appearing within just a fortnight after transplantation has pushed him into distress.
The flowers on the saplings are very weak and of sub-standard quality. He feared that he may not be able to reap a good harvest this kharif season.
Social activist Pratap Padhi said that the onslaught of natural calamities and the negligence of Agriculture department have become bane for the farmers.
He said that the start of kharif season has been quite worrisome for the farmers. Issues such as scanty rainfall, lack of paddy seeds and sale of sub-standard seeds have been troubling the farmers from the start.
Undeterred, the farmers have carried on with their agricultural works but flowering of saplings within a fortnight of transplantation has disappointed the farmers.
Many farmers have alleged that this situation has cropped up due to sale of sub-standard and fake seeds.
Both the Centre and state government are claiming of providing quality paddy seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to the farmers at subsidised rates. The government has also formed various primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) to provide seeds, fertilizers, and medicines to the farmers.
However, in reality, the government and the PACS have failed to ensure timely supply of seeds, fertilizers, and medicines. The government should look into such problems, Pradhan and other farmers said.
Another farmer Susant Samal said he was forced to buy seeds from the open market after he failed to get those from the PACS. “If I fail to get a good harvest, how will I be able to meet my family expenses and repay the loans I have taken for cultivation?” he lamented adding that the state government should urgently intervene and provide compensation.
When contacted, additional agriculture officer Sarat Nayak said that the seeds supplied by the state government through PACS undergo quality check in four stages.
The government will supply new seeds in case the previously supplied seeds fail. There is no provision for compensation in cases of seeds brought from the open market, he said.
PNN
