November 10, 2020: The Cotton Corporation of India’s decision to slash the Minimum Support Price, has rattled the cotton farmers in erstwhile Adilabad district, who are already saddled with high natural moisture content due to foggy weather and pink bollworm infection in the crops.
Starting Monday, the CCI said that it would lift the produce at ₹5,775 per quintal as against ₹5,825 per quintal for which the cotton was purchased till Saturday.
The decision was taken as the strength of the cotton ball is reportedly less than 30 mm length this season due untimely rains.
“Even the farmers, who got quality produce with strength more or less 30 mm length have to sell their produce for the new price,” an official said.
Moreover, farmers can get ₹5,775 per quintal only if the moisture content is up to 8 %. If moisture is more than 8 %, the CII deducts the price per quintal and the farmer ends up getting less money.
So, to bring down the moisture content, farmers in several villages in the district are drying their produce in front of the houses, before it is taken to the market yard to get good price.
M Sudarshan of Khodad village in Talamadugu mandal said that for the past few days he has been drying the crop in front of his house as the moisture content was very high.
“This year, I got less produce due to bad weather conditions, and adding to that CCI has slashed the MSP,” he said.
Every year, Mr.Sudarshan gets at least 80 quintals of cotton from his eight acre, but this time he ended up harvesting only 30 quintals due to untimely rains.
“Most of it was damaged due to rains and many have destroyed the crop due to pink bollworm infection,” he said while drying the ‘white gold’ in front of his house.
Satish, another farmer from Bela mandal said that they have to sell the cotton to CCI, as private cotton traders, who colluded with Ginning and Pressing factory owners are taking undue advantage of the high moisture content and exploiting them and offering low prices.
“If CCI rejects the product, we are forced to sell it to private traders and ginning factory owners at a very low price,” he said.
Caught between mounds of cotton on one side and staring at less net realisation, the farmers are thrown into the debt trap.
Earlier, small and medium ginning and pressing enterprisers alleged that they were not getting sufficient orders from the CCI to process cotton ‘kapas’ into bales, as most of the cotton was sent to a few big ginners.
Source: The Hindu
