Jajpur: The Sukinda Seed Farm at Damodarpur under Sukinda block in this district is on the verge of closure due to alleged administrative and political negligence, sources said here Tuesday. The farm touted as Asia’s largest seeds production centre was established in 1948 by the Odisha government over 1,437 acres of land. The idea behind setting up the unit was to provide quality seeds to farmers of the state. Trouble started for the organisation after the state Agricultural department and the Odisha Seeds Corporation jointly signed an MoU with the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) for privatisation of the farm, July 23, 2016.
After the MoU, the state government handed over its farmlands to the NSC. However, NSC without paying any heed to the needs of the farmers launched paddy and Arhar (pulses) cultivation on the land. Labourers working on the seeds farm demanded work from the NSC but the latter refused to listen. It handed over the farm to ‘Gobind Engineering’, a Jharkhand-based consultancy agency. Later, the agency stopped all agriculture and cultivation activities in the farm and labourers were rendered jobless. The private agency allegedly did not pay even minimum wages to labourers. It even struck off their names from muster rolls and deprived them of employees’ provident funds (EPF). Some of the leaders of the labour group were implicated in false cases forcing them to flee. After losing their jobs, the labourers have been driven to penury.
Many of them have migrated to other states to earn a living. An effort to revive the seeds farm was launched by the Odisha government. However, it soon fizzled out and since then the farm has been lying unattended. Sources said that the seeds farm since its establishment was engaged in cultivation of crops like paddy, green grams (moongs), black grams, pearl millet (bajra), horse grams, groundnuts, pumpkins, jute, dhaincha, maize, mustard and various other types of seeds.
Approximately 3,000 persons from villages like Kuhika, Damodar pur, Pimpudia, Bandhgaon and Manatira were working in the farm and earning their livelihoods. Many of those who worked at the farm were women. However, now everyone is looking at a bleak future, sources pointed out. Sources informed that the Odisha government had signed an agreement to hand over 108.06 hectares to the NSC. However, the NSC in connivance with influential persons in the area has acquired a sal forest, all buildings and infrastructure that belonged to the farm.
At a meeting of the trust board of the district Mineral Foundation (DMF), April 6, 2021 a decision was taken to plant 1,03,400 guava trees on the farm lands. The Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBDC) also sanctioned Rs 9.75 crore for the purpose. The district Horticulture department also planted guava trees with funds worth Rs 76.6 lakh sanctioned in the first phase. The project was estimated to return Rs 2.5 crore as profits in five years. However, the project got scuttled after a case was filed in the NGT alleging violation of norms in use of forest land as non-forest land. Social activist Biswanath Patra has asked the Agriculture secretary to intervene and make the Sukinda Seed Farm operational once again.