Alert issued on suspicious seed parcels in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Government has alerted the agriculture officials to keep a tab on mysterious seed packages, if coming to the State from any unknown sources as those can be a threat to the bio-diversity.

On Saturday, the Centre had issued a directive asking all states, agriculture universities and research bodies to remain vigilant about suspicious/unsolicited seed parcels.

Stating that thousands of suspicious seed shipments have been reported across the world, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry said the seed parcels may contain seeds of an alien invasive species or an attempt to introduce pathogens posing serious threats to environment, agriculture eco-system and national security.

Arrival of mislabelled packages from unknown sources had been reported in many countries, including the US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Japan and some European nations. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also termed it as brushing scam and agriculture smuggling.

Principal Secretary of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment department Saurabh Garg said the officials have been asked to keep an eye on the situation. Garg, however, clarified that the seeds procured by the Odisha State Seeds Corporation and supplied to farmers in the State are safe.