Crisis of quality seeds worries boro farmers in 5 N dists

Farmers of five northern districts including Nilphamari are facing crisis of quality boro seeds at the onset of the cultivation season as supply from government owned Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) is too meagre to meet the demand.

Seeds available in the open markets are often of low quality, said farmers.

The regional office of the Department of Agriculture Extension in Rangpur set a target to bring under boro cultivation 5.02 lakh and 529 hectares of land in Rangpur, Nilphamari, Kurigram, Gaibandha, and Lalmonirhat.

As per the target, which is 10,542 hectares higher than last year's, high yielding variety (HYV) of paddy will be grown on 3.49 lakh and 351 hectares, hi-breed on 1.51 lakh and 51 hectares and local variety on 2,127 hectares.

Accordingly, this season's demand of boro seeds in the region is about 14,000 tonnes.

Boro cultivation season in the region continues from early January to mid February.

Farmers said they prefer BADC boro seeds as those are grown and preserved in scientific ways, making them virus and fungus free and high yielding.

The regional office of BADC supplied only about 3,732 tonnes of boro seeds in the region, which comprises only 27% of the total demand, said official sources.

Official price of a 10 kg bag of boro seeds of BRRI dhan-28 variety supplied by BADC is Tk 360 and that of BRRI dhan-29 is Tk 350.

But many farmers alleged that they had to buy a 10-kg bag of boro seeds of the two varieties from seed dealers for Tk 450 to 500.

Asked about the matter, Faruk Zahedul Huq, deputy director of BADC seed marketing department in Rangpur region, said it is responsibility of the seed monitoring committee of the district concerned to keep the price of BADC seeds stable by launching regular drives in seed markets.

Visiting different seed markets like Tengonmari Haat and Sutibari Haat of Nilphamari, and Sakoa Haat of Panchagarh, this correspondent found that boro seeds are selling in attractive bags but most of them are not tested by the government's seed certification department.

A 10-kg bag of ordinary seeds of different companies is selling for Tk 600-Tk 650 and a one-kg bag of hi-breed variety paddy for Tk 250-Tk 260.

"Finding no way we are buying low quality boro seeds from markets," said Zakir Hossen Shah, a farmer of Sararpar village of Nilphamari district.

Abul Ala Moududi, Nilphamari district seed certification officer, said, "My office certified only 232 tonnes of boro seeds in the district. Seeds from other districts are coming here for sale but the quality is questionable. And so, we will start drive with help of law enforcers soon."