JAGATSINGHPUR: Farmers of Jagatsinghpur district are unwilling to give up traditional varieties of paddy seeds and experiment with new high yielding ones, thanks to the failure of the agriculture department in creating awareness on the benefits.
They have been using seed varieties like Sarala, Puja 1818, CR 1018, Uphar, Barsha and Swarna as they are suitable for the area and yield harvest between 150 and 155 days.
Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC) has come up with new varieties of paddy seeds like MPU 1079 to replace Puja 1818. Besides, the corporation has also introduced four other new varieties-RJL 2537, Sabitri sub-one, Pradhan and Agni.
Sources said since the farmers are unsure of the performance of the new varieties of seeds, they are reluctant to use them. Records suggest only 25 per cent of farmers are using the new varieties this kharif season while the rest will continue to stick to the traditional varieties.
Babaji Charan Nayak, a farmer said the agriculture department had supplied mini kits comprising 2 kg of the new seeds each in some villages. However, the department’s awareness programmes eluded the majority of the farmers owing to which they do not have any knowledge of the new varieties.
Another farmer Dibakar Nayak said he has not replaced the seeds he has been using on his two-and-a-half acre land with the new ones as the efficacy of the latter is yet to be proven. Zonal Manager of OSSC Naba Kishore Sethy said the corporation has introduced new varieties of seeds like MPU 1079 and 1061 and also launched a foundation seed called ‘Kala Champa’ in the district. But the farmers are reluctant to use them. Sethy said the seeds are being provided to farmers as per their requirement.
This year, the agriculture department has set a target to cultivate paddy on 86,220 hectares of land in the district and around 40,000 quintals of seeds are required for the purpose.