Cotton was cultivated in 3.17 lakh hectares in Adilabad
A farmer picks up his dampened cotton at the Enumamula market yard on Friday. (Photo: DC)
Adilabad: Natural moisture content which lingers between 18 per cent and 20 per cent in the cotton produce hit the minimum support price (MSP) for cotton in the open market as the CCI officials have declined to purchase the cotton citing high moisture content brought by the farmers against permissible 8 per cent -12 per cent.
The CCI will deduct Rs 41 per one per cent moisture content than the permissible 8 per cent content. So far in the district nearly 2,000 quintals of cotton was purchased at various markets.
However, farmers are getting equal to the MSP or less than MSP with the high moisture content with private traders though they are offering Rs 100 more than the MSP. The farmers are losing in terms of deduction Rs 400 -Rs 500 an average for higher moisture content per cent.
Farmers say it is common that moisture content per cent will be more than 20 per cent in the present weather conditions though farmers are not applying water as CCI officials allege to increase the cotton weight. The moisture content per cent will come down gradually by the second picking. Congress state secretary Gandrath Sujatha said CCI officials are making the moisture content per cent an issue to bring in the private cotton traders.
Ms Sujatha demanded that state government should announce Rs 1,000 bonus per quintal cotton like Maharashtra government while ensuring MSP to the cotton by CCI and added that officials and ministers, MLAs of ruling party are extending support to the private cotton traders and creating favourable conditions for them. She found fault with the government for insisting on 8-12 per cent moisture content in the cotton produce and even pasted wall posters with this regard in the villages though the ministers know very well that more than 20 per cent moisture content is common in the initial days.
Heavy rain dampen cotton at market yard
About 30,000 bags of cotton got wet due to heavy rain at the Enumamula market yard on Friday. Farmers looked helpless as they could not move their bags to a dry place due to lack of shelter in the market yard. The CCI declared that the purchases at market will end on Friday before resuming after 10 days holidays.
With this, farmers brought in large quantity of their produce to the market yard early in the morning. Farmers from other districts like Khammam and Nalgonda also brought their produce to the market yard. But with rain lashing out, the cotton got totally wet for 30 minutes. The farmers are already not happy with the CCI offering very low price for the cotton citing high level of moisture percentage. Farmers are worried that they have incurred huge loss as their cotton will now become of less value.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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