KENDRAPADA: The fate of groundnut growers in Barachana block of Jajpur district is hanging in the balance as they got no yield from the seeds sown in November. "I took a loan of Rs 30,000 from the village cooperative society to raise the crop. The
spurious seeds
dashed all hopes of a good harvest," said Dhiren Jena of Gopalpur village.
The farmers alleged that they were forced to buy sub-standard seeds from the open market due to delay on the part of the agriculture department in providing them certified seeds. The private suppliers talked them into buying spurious seeds, they added.
The farmers meet the block agriculture officer Ramesh Kumar Nanda recently and demanded stern action against the private suppliers. "The seeds supplied by private parties failed to germinate. The department is investigating," he said. tnn