hyderabad: A farmer has been awarded 55,000 as compensation by a consumer forum after he filed a complaint against a weedicide company, alleging that their product failed to work resulting in significant crop losses.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Nalgonda gave the direction after examining the complaint of Jambarapu Ashok, a farmer from Maddirala in Suryapet district, against Annadatha Fertilisers & Pesticides of Maddirala, Rekha Corporation of Hyderabad, and Syngenta India.
In his complaint, Ashok said he had purchased %E2%80%98Fusiflex%E2%80%99 for 850 to eliminate weeds from his one acre groundnut crop in October 2022. He alleged the weedicide did not work as expected, compelling him to hire labourers at an additional cost of 9,500 to remove the weeds manually. Consequently, the yield of groundnut decreased significantly, resulting in crop loss.
The farmer claimed to have sold only 28,975 worth of groundnuts, indicating the scale of his losses.
In response to the complaint, Annadatha Fertilisers & Pesticides argued that they merely sell products manufactured by Syngenta and hold no liability for their effectiveness. The wholesale dealer, Rekha Corporation, contended that the farmer was not their direct consumer.
After examining the evidence, the consumer forum ruled in favour of the farmer and ordered all three parties to pay the compensation.
The commission said that the 850 paid for the weedicide and the 9,500 paid to the agricultural labourers should be returned by the three parties. Additionally, the firms must pay 30,000 towards crop loss, 10,000 for mental agony, and 6,000 for expenses.
Aug 4, 2023
Source : Times Of India