Agriculture Department gives 8,000 quintal substandard seed to Punjab farmers

Chandigarh, June 16

There seems to be no end to the woes of farmers in Punjab with the Agriculture Department now supplying 8,000 quintal substandard seed of ‘dhaincha’ (green manure crop) to them.

Dhaincha is crucial as it helps improve the physical properties of land and meet nitrogen requirement of the crop. According to sources, samples of dhaincha supplied by the department had been found to be of poor quality. The seeds were supplied after wheat harvest — dhaincha is sown before paddy plantation.

Will withhold subsidy

The matter is in my knowledge. We will not release subsidy to the supplier. — Gurvinder Singh, Director, Agriculture

Dhaincha’s importance

Due to indiscriminate use of pesticides, 2.5 lakh hectares have high concentration of acidic content. To increase the fertility through green manure, the govt provides huge subsidy on ‘dhaincha’ seeds, which is sown soon after wheat harvest.

The first testing of samples was carried out in April, during which 57 of the 65 specimens were found substandard. However, the procurement agency lodged a protest claiming the testing was not done properly and demanded retesting of the seeds. Fresh tests were done at a government laboratory in Ludhiana. The results were even worse as this time, 58 out of the 65 samples failed. Sources revealed the problem with the seeds was of improper germination. The sources said in the first week of May, the department had even asked its field staff to be cautious about using the seeds, but the latter failed to stop sowing of substandard seeds. The Agriculture Department, which is a nodal agency, had asked Punjab Agrotech for supply of seeds. The sources said Punjab Agrotech had procured the seeds from the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NEFED).

NEFED further sourced the seeds from a private farm in Mansa. The government’s target was to distribute around 12,000 quintal seeds, but it procured around 8,000 quintals. Director Agriculture Gurvinder Singh confirmed the matter was in his knowledge and said they would not release the subsidy to the supplier.