Cotton farmers in Telangana, one of the major growers of the fibre in the country, are a worried lot as the procurement season begins.

The farmers, who sowed a record acreage of 46 lakh acres for the fibre crop this year, are demanding a price of ₹7,000 a quintal as they feel the MSP of ₹4,320 for the year is not remunerative. They also want the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to open more procurement centres.

“A large number of farmers have switched to cotton this time as prices of paddy, turmeric, mirchi and redgram fell sharply last year. If farmers get a price lower than that, the State and Central governments should pay the difference,” S Malla Reddy, All-India Vice-President of All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), told BusinessLine .

Crop-switching pattern

After witnessing dismal returns in crops such as mirchi, turmeric and redgram, the farmers have returned to cotton in a big way. As against the suggested price of ₹4,000, a significant number of farmers got ₹5,000, resulting in the additional acreage over 10 lakh acres this time.

While the price of turmeric fell to ₹5,000 from ₹14,000 a quintal, prices of mirchi fell to ₹2,500 from ₹12,000; redgram to ₹4,500 from ₹12,000 and paddy from ₹1,510 to ₹1,300.

Representatives of farmers’ unions have discussed the pricing of cotton and the status of arrangements for the procurement season here on Friday. They threatened protests on October 16 and 23 at the CCI offices if their demands are not met.

Though the procurement generally takes off after Diwali, some markets have already recorded arrivals of the commodity. Initial reports suggest that the prices being offered are not quite encouraging.

The country produced 3.51 crore bales (of 170 kg each) last year and farmers’ unions are projecting similar volumes this year as well.

“Farmers in the State had reduced the cotton acreage in the previous year on Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao’s appeal and went for red gram, whose acreage went up to 11 lakh acres from the normal area of six lakh acres,” the AIKS leader said.

“The State government has estimated the cost of production for cotton at ₹4,959 a quintal and recommended a price of ₹7,725 for the season. But the Centre has decided a far lower price at ₹4,320 (for long staple fibre). This is not remunerative,” said T Sagar, State secretary of the Telangana Rythu Sangham.

Procurement centres

Meanwhile, Telangana Marketing Minister T Harish Rao has asked the CCI to open procurement centres from October 16. He asked farmers not to sell their produce at a price lower than the MSP. He wanted the officials to open 231 procurement centres for maize.

The Minister held a review meeting on Friday to take stock of the arrangements for the procurement season.

Related Topics