Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: At long last, the Assam Agriculture Department has become aware of spurious seed sellers duping the farmers in the state. Of late, the department has started taking action against the spurious seed sellers.
The department has lodged FIRs, cancelled licences, and issued show-cause notices against ten spurious seed sellers in the state. An often-repeated occurrence in Assam has been ‘sown paddy yielding chaff instead of grains’. These seeds are mostly sold by private dealers and retailers. Such occurrences are also seen sometimes from certified seeds supplied by the Agriculture Department, mostly in the case of seeds of hybrid paddy.
According to sources, it is not possible for the department to provide free-of-cost seeds to the around 38 lakh farmers of the state, and this leads a section of farmers to buy seeds from private parties.
Though the responsibility of keeping an eye on the quality of seeds being sold to the farmers of the state by private sellers lies with the state agriculture department, for reasons best known to it, the department failed to do the job till the recent past.
Now the Agriculture Department has issued strict instructions to its officials to take punitive action against dishonest seed dealers involved in the sale of spurious seeds across various districts of the state. Taking serious note of incidents where substandard seeds sold by some unscrupulous traders led to paddy crop failure in several regions of the state, the department instructed the Director of Agriculture to initiate proper investigation and take appropriate action. Acting on this directive, departmental officials have launched a concerted effort across the state to crack down on such fraudulent seed traders.
Recently, under the orders of the District Agriculture Officer of Kamrup, action has been taken against 10 seed outlets in Hajo and Ramdia for irregularities in seed sales. Measures include cancellation of licences issued by the department for seed sale, lodging of FIRs against seed sellers, and issuance of show-cause notices. According to available information, M/S Assam Seed Store in Hajo was found to be selling seeds without a valid licence, and the Agricultural Development Officer concerned has been instructed to file an FIR against the owner. Similarly, the seed sale licence of Ayub Seed Store in Hajo has been cancelled for violations, and the renewal of licences for M/S M Enterprise, Laxmi Agro Store, B J Seed Store, and Sabikul Seed Store has been cancelled.
In Ramdia, show-cause notices have been issued to the owners of J K H Enterprise, Haque Seed Store, Ramdia Krishi Beej Bhandar, and Rahman Seed Store for various irregularities in seed sales, and the dealers concerned have been asked to submit their responses. Based on their replies, further departmental action will be taken as per official policy.
As a precaution, the Agriculture Department has appealed to farmers to purchase quality seeds only from recognised and authorised institutions such as Assam Seed Corporation, National Seed Corporation, Assam Agricultural University, or other government-approved organizations.
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