Tonnes of potato seeds rotting in Jharkhand’s Palamu District
By ANIFriday, October 8, 2010
PALAMU - Around 1000 tonnes of subsidised potato seeds, meant for sowing, are rotting in Jharkhand’s Palamu District.
Farmers have refused to buy the rotten potato seeds, as the area is still facing a drought.
“There is no moisture in the soil. These potato seeds have arrived before time and are very expensive despite being subsidised by the government. Due to this reason, we are not buying the potato seeds, which have rotted. The government is entirely responsible for this,” said Santosh Gupta, a farmer.
Farmers claimed that the potato seeds are cheaper in the open market than the subsidised lot.
Agriculture Department officials, however, said open market seeds were poor quality.
Deputy Director for the Agriculture Directorate, Brijeshwar Dubey, said he had recently inspected a warehouse to check whether potato seeds were rotting, and why farmers were not ready to buy them. By Neelkamal (ANI)
