Hyderabad: To ensure that farmers do not fall prey to the tricks of fraudsters, the police has initiated street plays and folk song performances to spread awareness.
Officials recently found that stocking seeds in close proximity to fertilisers can have a negative impact on the yielding capacity of seeds.
In order to create awareness among farmers about the illegality of purchasing seeds other than those sold at government-approved outlets — like the ones sold loose as hybrid seeds — the Mahbubnagar police has taken up the initiative to organise skits and folk song performances in rural areas.
“While every morning, our teams inspect production units and raid outlets selling rejected seeds, the same teams every evening visit villages to execute our awareness programme,” said Ms Rema Rajeshwari, superintendent of police, Mahbubnagar.
Farmers are invited to either a community hall or a ground where police teams enact skits and perform folk songs to expound how purchasing loose seeds from unauthorised dealers can affect the quality of crops. “Farmers are being informed about how organisers could dupe them by selling loose seeds and those without manufacturing/expiry dates, how rejected seeds are sold under various brand labels, and other crop-related issues,” Ms Rajeshwari said.
“Scientists have also found that storing seeds in close proximity to pesticides and fertilisers can have a negative impact on their yielding capacity. This is another issue that we have been trying to bring to the notice of farmers through our skits,” she added.
