HYDERABAD
Working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K.T. Rama Rao has stated that farmers who have raised cotton during the Kharif season are neither getting the support price of ₹7,521 per quintal for long staple and ₹7,121 for medium staple nor the bonus of ₹500 per quintal promised by the Congress before Assembly elections.
In a statement, Mr. Rama Rao said on Saturday that the farmers were being exploited by the traders/middlemen as the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) had stopped procurement citing various reasons, mostly high moisture content in the produce. Stating that cotton was the second largest crop cultivated in the Kharif season after paddy, the government was keeping quiet on the low extent of procurement by CCI.
The government had betrayed farmers in the matter of bonus to paddy already as it was announced only for the fine varieties by laying down some conditions against the word given to farmers before the elections that bonus would be given to all varieties of paddy and other crops, he stated.
According to officials, cotton was cultivated in nearly 44 lakh acres in Kharif and the production estimated was about 35 lakh tonnes. The CCI has agreed to set up 351 procurement/purchase centres in association with cotton and ginning mills. However, most of the farmers were being denied the support price citing higher moisture content than the prescribed 12%.
Published – October 26, 2024 06:17 pm IST
