The minister said the MSP was not adequate or remunerative, especially when cotton production had fallen across the state
Nalgonda: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy urged the Centre to increase the minimum support price (MSP) for cotton, citing the severe losses suffered by Telangana farmers due to incessant rain.
Inaugurating a Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) procurement centre at Gole thanda in Khammam district on Tuesday, the minister said the MSP was not adequate or remunerative, especially when cotton production had fallen across the state. He said Congress MPs from Telangana would take up the issue in the upcoming Parliament session and bring it to the notice of party leader Rahul Gandhi. “The Centre must consider the plight of Telangana’s cotton farmers and revise the MSP to make cultivation viable,” he stated.
The minister warned of strict action against anyone found reducing the weight of cotton on the pretext of excess moisture. He said the state government had devised a plan to safeguard farmers affected by rain and had formed special committees comprising revenue and police officials to address complaints related to cotton procurement.
Srinivas Reddy directed agriculture department officials to measure the moisture content of cotton directly at the fields using the moisture meters already supplied to them. He said awareness programmes would also be launched to help farmers book slots online before bringing their produce to the CCI centres.
