No self-declaration needed for buying paddy seeds: Agri director | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Agriculture department director B Gopi on Tuesday clarified that farmers do not need to submit a self-declaration to buy paddy seeds, urging them not to believe fake news that could cause confusion over seed sales.He said farmers need not worry about purchasing paddy seeds and warned dealers against insisting on self-declarations. Action would be taken against dealers who pressured farmers to submit such declarations or sold fake seeds, he added.Gopi, however, advised farmers to reduce paddy cultivation during yasangi (rabi) in view of deficient rainfall due to the El Niño effect. He suggested growing less water-intensive crops such as vegetables, red gram, green gram and pearl millet instead.Even in areas cultivated under tank and borewell irrigation, farmers should consider replacing paddy with crops that require less water, he added.The agriculture department director cautioned that misleading reports about self-declarations could create unnecessary confusion among farmers over the purchase of paddy seeds.