Farmers Seek Compensation After Maize Fields Yield Empty Cobs

• Farmers in Mathura have sought compensation after maize plants grew well but produced no kernels.

• The agriculture department has formed an inquiry committee to check seed quality, soil health, moisture and weather impacts.

• If seed defects or fraud are found, officials said legal action and compensation will follow.

Farmers are seeking compensation from the government, stating that even though the maize crop looks lush and green, the cobs have not developed any corn kernels.

Acting on the farmers' complaints, the Directorate of Agriculture has constituted an inquiry committee led by Vinod Kumar Yadav, the Joint Director of Agriculture for the Agra Division.

The committee comprises District Agriculture Officer Avesh Kumar Singh, Yogesh Kumar Sharma (in-charge of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra), and a representative from the seed manufacturing company Hill India, officials said on Sunday.

The panel will examine various critical factors, including the genetic quality of the maize seeds, the soil health and moisture levels in the affected fields.

Experts will also assess whether seed quality, adverse weather conditions, or a nutrient imbalance in the soil is responsible for the crop failure.

Avesh Kumar Singh said that if the investigation report reveals defects or fraud regarding the seeds, legal action will be taken against the company, and farmers will be provided with compensation. A show-cause notice has been issued to the seed manufacturer, seeking a response.

According to Singh, complaints have been received from farmers who purchased subsidised maize seeds from the government agriculture seed depot in Raya. Fifty-four farmers in the district had used 16 quintals of seeds from Hill India Company, which had been distributed through government depots.

The official also said that this hybrid seed variety is extremely sensitive to temperature. February is the ideal time for sowing it. Crops sown by March 10 are in good condition.

However, those who sowed the crop after March 10, following the potato or wheat harvest in temperatures ranging from 38 to 40 degrees Celsius, the pistils of the crop dried up. Consequently, the cobs failed to develop kernels, and the crop was ruined, he added.

Seeds from the same company were used in other areas of Mathura as well, where the crops yielded abundant grain. Yet, the crops belonging to farmers in the Baldeo development block failed to produce kernels. An on-site inspection confirmed the validity of the complaints, he noted.

Singh also said that a report calculating the average performance of both affected and unaffected crops would be submitted to the administration.

District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh has constituted a team led by Chief Development Officer Pooja Gupta.

The team comprises the District Agriculture Officer, the Head of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, District Horticulture Officer Prashant Verma, and Senior Assistant (Plant Protection) Sanjeev Kumar.