GUNTUR: For the cotton farmers of Guntur district, the glitches in seed supply are a cruel blow as they come in the wake of a 5 per cent crop failure last year due to untimely heavy rains.This kharif season, the crop is set to be cultivated in 5 lakh acres in the district, which would 11.90 lakh seed packets to so. But only 3.50 lakh packets were made available in the market. As a result of the shortage, the Mallika-2 variety of cotton seed, normally priced at Rs 930 per packet, is being sold for Rs 1,500 in the black market.While joint collector A Sarath says a crackdown on seed dealers is on, farmers are finding fault with officials for allowing seed stocks to be diverted to the black market.Farmer Y Sivananda Reddy of Sattenapalli said, “Officials are well aware that dealers are refusing to give bills and selling stocks at higher prices.’’ The Vigilance & Enforcement (V&E) wing is learnt to have submitted a report to the district administration that 90 per cent of the 704 dealers in the district are resorting to blackmarketing of cotton seeds. The joint collector has taken well-publicised action against a few seed dealers, but farmers think not enough has been done and the sowing season is well under way.
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