GUNTUR: Andhra Pradesh’s cotton farmers are grappling with severe distress as delayed procurement and price reductions leave them in financial turmoil. Despite the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) setting up 31 procurement centres across the State, only 20 are currently operational, with the remaining 11 yet to commence the procurement process.
Farmers, who faced significant losses in the past two seasons due to fake seeds and declining prices, had hoped for better returns this year. However, heavy rains in recent months have taken a toll on crop quality, further compounding their worries. The government-fixed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for cotton stands at Rs 7,521, prompting many farmers to throng the CCI centres in anticipation of fair prices.
Unfortunately, high moisture content in the cotton, caused by prolonged rains and winter temperatures, has led CCI officials to reject major quantities of the produce. As per guidelines, moisture levels must range between 8% and 12%, but farmers, unable to properly dry their crops, are finding it difficult to meet this criterion.
The rejections are forcing farmers to sell their cotton to middlemen at considerably lower prices. “Transporting cotton to the procurement centre costs us over Rs 15,000. If our produce is rejected, these costs double, worsening our financial burden,” said K Raghava Rao, a farmer from Medikonduru. Adding to the frustration, farmers in Kurnutula village accused local CCI officials of deliberately delaying procurement by citing ‘server issues’ and making them wait for hours. They voiced their grievances to Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar during his visit to a procurement centre.
In response, the Minister escalated the matter to Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh, who has appointed Central Marketing Director Vijay Kuradagi as a special inspection officer to investigate the issue. Farmers are now urging the government to either raise the permissible moisture percentage or procure the cotton at adjusted rates to prevent further exploitation by middlemen and mitigate their mounting losses.
