KTR assures seed cotton farmers of support; urges government to resolve grievances

Wants government to ensure that farmers are paid dues as per their agreements with seed companies

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday assured seed cotton farmers of all possible support and urged Agriculture Department officials to convene a meeting with seed company representatives and growers to resolve their grievances. He asked the government to ensure that farmers were paid dues as per their agreements with seed companies.

A delegation of farmers from Jogulamba Gadwal district, who cultivated seed cotton this year to meet the growing demand for cotton seeds, met Rama Rao and sought his intervention. The farmers expressed deep distress over alleged exploitation by seed companies and their appointed intermediaries, referred to as “organisers”, who they claimed were functioning like a “seed mafia”, deceiving innocent farmers.

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They alleged that the companies were offering significantly lower rates for their produce compared to last year. In several cases, despite the seed cotton passing quality tests, companies arbitrarily rejected the produce, labelling it “unfit for seed use”. The same seed, when tested independently at other labs through ‘grow-out tests’, yielded positive results, they pointed out.

Rama Rao spoke to Principal Secretary (Agriculture) Raghunandan Rao and Jogulamba Gadwal District Collector BM Santosh over phone, requesting them to look into the matter and take steps to address the injustice.

The farmers’ delegation also met former Minister T Harish Rao and apprised him of their concerns. Harish Rao assured them of full support from the party.