Acute shortage of paddy seeds has hit farmers of the district ahead of the kharif planting season. A large number of farmers alleged that paddy seeds are not available in the market and the existing stock is being sold at a premium by dealers. Sixty-year-old Bhaskar Jena, a farmer of Bharatapur village, claimed that the district Agriculture officials are not making efforts to supply paddy seeds on time. The upcoming planting season has sparked a rush for quality paddy seeds but the shortage has hit farmers who want the State Government to step in and resolve the crisis. When there is a shortage in the market, unscrupulous traders sell sub-standard seeds to farmers to meet the demand, thereby contributing to poor production of paddy. If the issue is not resolved soon, it will severely damage crop prospects. As the district administration is unable to meet the demand, a large number of farmers are forced to purchase sub-standard paddy seeds from the open market at a price ranging from Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000. The administration has broken the backbone of farmers by not supplying sufficient seeds to them.