HAFED provides BT cotton seeds at cheap rates

Chandigarh, Aug 22 (UNI) The Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (HAFED) has provided 12.50 lakh packets of BT cotton seeds of all varieties to the farmers of the state at reasonable prices during Kharif 2008 to encourage them to cultivate cotton crop.

Stating this here today, Cooperation Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said HAFED's venture to supply BT Cotton seeds to the farmers had proved a boon for the cotton growers of the state.

In order to provide maximum benefit to the cotton growers, Hafed had recently started the supply of good quality BT cotton seeds through its network of Cooperative Marketing Societies located in the cotton growing districts like Fatehabad, Sirsa, Hisar, Bhiwani, Jind and Rohtak.

Mr Chatha said Hafed also took the initiative of reducing the market price of BT cotton per packet from Rs 750 to Rs 700 which forced the private traders to reduce their prices. The ultimate beneficiaries were the farmers who purchased the best quality seeds at a low price.

As a general practice, he said, private traders had the tendency to supply poor quality seeds to the farmers but due to Hafed's commitment to provide the best quality seeds and that too at the lowest prices, private traders were left with no option but to provide the better quality seeds.

In this new venture Hafed had not only boosted the cotton growers of the state but also motivated its Cooperative Marketing Societies which had gained from the sale of different qualities of BT Cotton seeds, he added.

UNI MA BK1629