Govt. responsible for seed scarcity: Lok Satta

The Lok Satta Party today demanded that the Government act against dealers and officials responsible for diversion of cotton seed to the black market.

In a media statement, Lok Satta Party leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao and P. Bhaskaraa Rao said that Government failure to ensure orderly cotton seed supply forced farmers to resort to road blockades and indulge in violence. The scramble for a certain variety of cotton seed led to the conduct of auctions and lottery for seed distribution. The neglect of agricultural extension machinery by successive Governments has resulted in such a pathetic situation, they added.

The Lok Satta leaders wanted the Government to ensure that there is no mismatch between demand for and supply of cotton seed and educate farmers on the efficacy of different seed varieties.

Now that the monsoon has advanced into the State, the Government should make available adequate quantities of fertilizer, they suggested.

The Government should shed its complacency towards agriculture which provides livelihood to an overwhelming majority of the population and make farming profitable through appropriate policies.