JVP accuses seed producers of ripping off farmers

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The price of a kilo of vegetable seeds had increased by 1000 percent compared to that in the end of 2020, National Organiser of the All-Ceylon Agrarian Federation (ACAF) Namal Karunaratne, told The Island.A kilo of pumpkin seeds was being sold to farmers at Rs. 117,000, the ACAF head said.

“A kilo of tomato seeds is sold at Rs. 680,000. A kilo of Red Lady papaya seeds is sold Rs 2 million. With seed prices like this, how can farmers produce?” he asked.

Karunaratne said the quality of the seeds had also dropped drastically. Seed producers were selling low quality seeds to farmers, he added.

“We have seen a drop in the yield because of this and the number of seeds that sprout have also decreased. There is no one to look at the quality of the seeds. Successive governments came up with initiatives to produce seeds, however no one knows what the outcomes are,” he said.

Karunaratne said the prices of vegetables had skyrocketed but farmers did not benefit because the middlemen exploited them.

“Middlemen are keeping a profit margin of at least 200 percent. Both the consumer and the farmer are fleeced by the middlemen,” he said.