Maize farmers in Mulugu up in arms over failure of GM seeds
Farmers in Mulugu district are protesting against multinational firms over poor yields from genetically modified (GM) maize seeds. Allegedly bypassing regulatory norms, these firms failed to collect harvested crops, leaving farmers in distress. Officials have launched investigations, while affected farmers demand ₹1 lakh per acre in compensation, with total estimated losses reaching ₹10 crore.
Warangal: Farmers in Mulugu district are up in arms over poor yield from genetically modified (GM) maize seeds supplied by some multinational firms. Farmers accuse these companies of bypassing regulatory norms and leaving them with no options for compensation.
While farm regulations mandate that seed companies must register their products, farmers claim these firms bypassed this process. Several farmers have filed complaints with local authorities.
With the orders of district collector T. S. Divakar, officials of various departments have visited affected fields and collected details from farmers.
Investigation has revealed that these firms allegedly distributed seeds without transparency and 959 farmers in Wajedu, Venkatapuram, Kannayigudem and Tadwai mandals cultivated maize on 2,178.68 acres.
Agriculture officer K. Kumar Yadav confirmed that field inspections in villages where farmers used GM seeds revealed that these seeds caused substantial losses.
K. Sadaiah, A. Sampathi, B. Sambaiah and A. Bikshapathy, farmers from Venkatapuram mandal, faced distress after sowing the seeds. The company that signed an agreement with them failed to collect the produce.
Sadaiah said, “We were promised the company will collect the crop after four months, but five months have passed without any action. The crop is still in the field, and we are struggling to protect it.”
Following orders from Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, the Telangana Agricultural and Farmers Welfare Commission held a review and assured support to affected farmers.
Meanwhile, farmers demanded accountability from seed firms and their organizers, accusing them of misrepresentation. They said each acre of loss should receive compensation of around 1 lakh with the total losses being estimated at 10 crore.
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Source : Deccan Chronicle
