Seed sector wants early decision on Bt cottonseed pricing

The Hindu Businessline -Hyderabad, Sept. 22: 

The Rs 8,000-crore seed industry has asked the Andhra Pradesh Government to finalise prices of Bt cotton seeds by February-end every year. “It is important for us to have the price tags by that time in order to prepare the packets and send them to dealers well before the season starts in mid-May,” Dr P Sateesh Kumar, President of Seedsmen Association of Andhra Pradesh, said.

Addressing the 16{+t}{+h} annual general meeting of the association here on Thursday, he pointed out how hard it was for the industry because of the inordinate delay in finalising the Bt cottonseed price. “We need enough time to print maximum retail price before despatching seed packets to different parts of the country,” he said.

Industry woes

Meanwhile, the industry expressed serious concern over shortage of labour.

“This could impact the industry adversely. We need farm mechanisation to face this problem,” Dr Sateesh said, talking to reporters later.

The industry, which was growing at an annual rate of 10-12 per cent, expected a normal production this year. “There was a let up of 10 days from incessant rains. Barring Prakasam, all other districts reported normal season for all seed farmers,” he said.

He also asked the State Government to clear subsidy dues for 2009 and 2010.

“We request the Government to rationalise testing fee for evaluating findings of trials,” he said.

Responding to the industry's plea, Mr C. Damodar Raja Narasimha, Deputy Chief Minister, asked the industry to come forward with proposals early so that it could begin talks in February-March to finalise pricing.

He said the university (Acharya N G Ranga Agriculture University) should be more vibrant.