HYDERABAD: Despite the Centre and State governments’ tall claims of being pro-farmers, they are unable to ensure that Minimum Support Prices (MSP) promised by them are provided to farmers. Cotton farmers in northern Telangana are having a tough time getting sufficient compensation for their produce.
Though the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has fixed the MSP at Rs 4,320 per quintal, traders are paying anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 3,500 depending upon the quality of cotton.
Traders blame it on poor quality of produce, thanks to unseasonal rains that destroyed large areas of cotton crop in the region.
Enumamula market yard, the second-largest in Asia, is usually packed with cotton bags around this time of the year. However, when Express visited the yard on Monday, only a few thousand bags had arrived. Farmers, who lost most of their crop to rains, brought the remaining damaged cotton to market hoping to recover at least a part of what they invested.
“They are bringing wet, blackish cotton,” claimed a trader. “We cannot pay them much for this. We will have a tough time scouting for people who would buy such low quality cotton.”
Farmers claim their produce isn’t that bad and traders were taking advantage of situation. “My cotton is slightly above the prescribed natural moisture content percentage fixed by CCI. But traders are not ready to accept that fact,” says T Ramesh of Arepally village in Warangal Urban mandal. “They are paying us just Rs 2,500 per quintal. This is even lesser than what we invested.”
Money spent to cultivate cotton has drastically increased, as input costs and labour charges have risen four fold. This has made it harder for farmers who are now making losses. Earlier, farmers had demanded that CCI increase moisture content percentrage from 8-12 pc to 20 pc.
It’s not just cotton, even grain farmers claim they do not get MSP. Farmers in Warangal cultivated 24,000 acres of green gram this sowing season. However, the produce is being sold for as less as Rs 3000-Rs 4000 per quintal when the MSP is Rs 5,575 per quintal. “We have invested Rs 10,000 per acre but got only 2 quintal yield. Adding to it, traders are offering lesser than the MSP,” said K Narasaiah.
The Telangana State Co-Operative Marketing Federation — Markfed — has setup one procurement centre in the market yard here, but has purchased only 50 quintals this season. Farmers are now pleading the state to ensure purchase of their produce at MSP.
The CCI is also not buying cotton with moisture content over permissible limits. “This would be a huge loss for us,” explained a CCI official. Farmers, officials claimed, prefer selling their produce to traders than government agencies.
“For CCI or Markfed to procure their produce, they have to produce their pass book and Aadhaar details. They have to wait 15-20 days for the money. It’s only when they do not get the MSP from traders that they come to us,” said a Markfed official.
Experts say MSP is a misleading concept as traders never buy produce at fixed rates. It varies depending on market price on a given day. Farmers lack resources to store their goods and wait for prices to increase. As a result, farmers who have taken loans are selling their produce at throwaway prices.
‘Release insurance amount to farmers’
Agriculture secretary C Parthasarathi requested insurance companies to see that crop insurance amount is released to farmers, immediately. At a meeting with representatives of insurance companies at Secretariat on Wednesday, Parthasarthi wanted them to release crop insurance claim amounts for Kharif season and transfer the money into the accounts of individual farmers. For this, the bankers wanted some more time.
Increase permissible moisture content: Farmers
Cotton farmers led by Congress and Rythu Sangam leaders on Wednesday protested in front of market yard demanding that government increase moisture content criterion in cotton from existing 8 to 12 pc to 20 pc. Ryots said natural moisture percentage in cotton was 16 and it was difficult for them to bring it down to eight. TPCC general secretary G Sujatha launched hunger strike demanding government increase moisture content criterion to 12 per cent.