Pune: Private seed firms have accused the agriculture department of double standards, saying it filed 85 cases against them over alleged poor soybean germination this kharif season but did not take similar action against state-owned Maharashtra State Seeds Corporation Limited (Mahabeej) despite receiving nearly 1,000 complaints against it.The private firms argued they were not allowed to verify complaints before criminal cases were filed, while Mahabeej was given time to carry out field inspections and investigations. Mahabeej supplied nearly 2 lakh quintals of soybean seed this kharif season, data showed.State agriculture commissioner Suraj Mandhare told TOI that govt was still examining complaints against Mahabeej. “The managing director of Mahabeej is verifying the cases,” Mandhare said, without clarifying whether cases would eventually be registered against Mahabeej.Director (quality control and inputs) Sunil Borkar, who is overseeing the statewide probe into soybean germination complaints, said, “I can’t comment on the matter at this juncture.” Senior officials, however, said complaints against Mahabeej were being subjected to scientific scrutiny, noting that poor germination could stem from multiple factors.Mahabeej MD Dilip Swami said the corporation has begun on-ground verification of every complaint in the presence of sarpanches and agriculture officials. “If a genuine seed issue is found, we will replace the seeds or pay compensation,” he told TOI on Wednesday, noting that initial findings indicated many complaints were tied to agronomic factors like soil conditions and sowing in insufficient moisture. “Seeds from the same lot have performed well in one field but poorly in a nearby farm,” he said.Swami said each seed lot underwent three rounds of scientific testing before sale. “We withheld nearly 1,500 quintals of soybean seed over quality concerns,” he said, acknowledging that seed-related problems had been confirmed in some cases, especially in Chakur tehsil of Latur district.A senior executive of a private seed firm said Mahabeej was being treated differently because it was govt-owned. “We repeatedly requested time to scientifically examine complaints and verify them on the ground. Instead, the cases were registered before all complaints were investigated,” he said.Ravindra Jagtap, technical director of the Seed Industry Association of Maharashtra, which represents 109 seed firms, said many firms that found issues with their seed supplies had already replaced seeds for affected farmers over the past fortnight. “Govt should not single out private firms. An unbalanced approach will hurt the industry’s sustainability,” he said.Agriculture experts and farmer groups questioned the usefulness of supplying replacement soybean seeds at this stage, arguing that the ideal sowing window had already passed. “The recommended sowing period is from the second week of June to the first week of July. Resowing now is not advisable because delayed crops face a higher risk from unseasonal rain during harvesting in Oct and Nov,” a senior agriculture department official said.Farmer leader Vijay Jawandhia said immediate compensation, rather than seed replacement, should be the priority. “Resowing is expensive. Farmers have to prepare fields again, often using tractors, which adds to costs,” he said.TOI sent a text message to CM Devendra Fadnavis on the issue but his response was awaited till going to press.
