Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): The agriculture department has launched a crackdown on seed and pesticide vendors following reports of poor product quality. Licences of 17 seed dealers were cancelled for selling substandard seeds.
Earlier, around 500 seed samples were collected for quality analysis under the Seed Quality Control 2023-24. Of the 420 received samples, 23 were found to be below standard, prompting an immediate ban on their sale, along with show cause notices issued to dealers.
Farmer welfare and agriculture development officer (deputy director) said that a total of 23 dealers faced sales prohibition coupled with show cause notices. Licences of 17 seed dealers, including Shri Dadaji Agricultural Service Centre Talwadiya and Kisan Bandhu Agricultural Service Centre Mundi, have been cancelled over being found to be selling substandard quality seeds.
The focus on pesticide quality was also intense, with 50 samples sent for analysis, revealing five non-standard samples. Consequently, the sale licences for Bhoomi Agro Khandwa and Kisan Bandhu Agricultural Service Centre Mundi were cancelled.
Besides, the pesticide licences of Voyage Agri Solution Private Limited, Khandwa, M/s Lakshmi Agro Municipal Corporation have been suspended.
Ten vendors were served show cause notices, while the sale of 4 pesticides was prohibited across the district.
The officer has appealed to the farmers to immediately report in case they suspect or find the sale of spurious seeds.
