Alert us if you get suspicious seeds from foreign nations, Agri dept to ryots

“There are reports that suspicious seeds from foreign countries, including China are imported into India. These suspicious seeds can harm the local biodiversity and famers should immediately inform the state Agriculture Department if they receive such seeds,” Agriculture Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, told DT Next.

Recently, there were reports that suspicious seeds are imported from China through e-commerce facilities. Various agricultural experts had warned the state and the Union governments to prevent the usage of such suspicious seeds by farmers.

“The suspicious seeds can be invasive species which will spread across the entire area and can cause harm to the crops planted by farmers. Invasive species like Prosofis juliflora (Seemai Karuvelam in Tamil) can cause much harm to the local species and biodiversity,” said Bedi.

He also said that though there are no confirmed reports of farmers receiving suspicious seeds in Tamil Nadu, the state Agriculture Department had warned officials at the rank of Joint Directors, attached to Agriculture Department in the districts, to ensure that no farmer uses such suspicious seeds in their land.

Recently, the Union government issued an advisory to farmers asking them not to use any unsolicited pack of seeds in their land. There is also suspicion that the seeds might be genetically modified.

Bedi further said that the state government has the policy against the usage of genetically modified seeds.