Farmers are increasingly getting reluctant to grow crop seeds for Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) due to 'delay in pay-ments'.

Many farmers told The Daily Star on the sidelines of a seminar on seed industry in the city yesterday that BADC cleared their dues only on September 5. four months after they had produced paddy seeds for the Corporation to market those in the coming IRRI-Boro season. BADC is the only public sector Institution in the country that produces and markets seed.

Over a hundred 'contract growers' — who grow seeds in their respective plots on con-

tract with the BADC'— aired their dissatisfaction over the delay in payment.

Md Mofcbul Hossain, one such 'contract grower' from Bo-gra, said he had to write to the agriculture minister and the BADC chairman last month for immediately arranging payments of the farmers' dues.

“I got the payment on Sunday for seeds that I had grown for and handed over to the BADC four months back." said Hossain, who won Banga-bandhu Agriculture Award for his farming.

Ashfaque Hamid Chowdhury of Thakurgaon and Md Mojibur Rahman of Rangpur also echoed the same complain. Chowdhury provided the Corporation with 133 sacks full of

paddy seeds (each weighing 65 kg) in May last and was paid in cheque only this week.

Rahman too gave 150 sacks of seeds to the BADC in May. " There is no advance payment. Yet. payment after four months is unacceptable. No farmer would grow seeds for the BADC in future." he warned.

A BADC official who was attending the seminar at BARC Auditorium was asked for his comment on the alleged delay in payment. GM Mohiuddln. acting member director (Seed) of BADC. however refused to say anything about the farmer^' complaint. "See me at my office later. I will introduce you to our public relations officer to answer your question," the BADC official said.