Cotton cultivation takes a tumble in Medak 

Farmers heed govt advice to curtail sowing of cotton

• As per govt estimates, prices of cotton would take a plunge in the international market this year
• Farmers have been advised to go in for alternative crops like maize, soyabean, vegetables and red gram
• Dealers say sale of cotton seeds in the district has gone down to almost 1/3rd as compared to last year
• Cotton seed prices too have fallen as there is no demand

Siddipet: Farmers in Medak district seem to be heeding to State government’s advice to them to shun cotton cultivation this kharif season, as wholesale and retail dealers of cotton seeds are reporting a nosedive in the sale of cotton seeds as compared to last year.

“We sold 3,000 packets of seeds last year by this time. But this year, we could sell only a third of it,” said Nagaraju, who is a dealer of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides in Chinnakodur mandal. Situation is similar at Subhash Road in Siddipet where people from nearby mandals come to buy seeds and other farm products. The seeds which cost Rs 930 last year, are being sold for Rs 700-730 this year.

Much of the change is attributed to the State government’s decision to discourage farmers from cultivating cotton because in all likelihood, the prices of cotton could take a plunge in the international market this year. As a result, farmers are opting to grow alternative crops like maize, soybean, vegetables and red gram.

However, there is still a large section of farmers who want to cultivate cotton in spite of an aggressive campaign being carried out by agriculture officers in the district. Farmers say that black soil is ideal for cultivating cotton, which doesn’t need much rain. They say they have no other option. Interestingly, farmers in many villages are abstaining from growing food crops due to monkey menace which is rampant in rural areas.

Kaluva Rajaiah, a farmer was seen buying six packets of cotton seeds spending Rs 4,380 from a seeds dealer, completely ignoring the advice of the government. When asked why he wasn’t listening to the expert advice, he said, “If they really want us to stop cultivating cotton, why are the seeds being made available in the market?”

What Rajaiah doesn’t know is that the government doesn’t have control over sale of seeds and it cannot decide what farmers should grow. It can only advice the farmers for their own good. In Thoguta mandal too, farmers have already planted cotton in some areas, ignoring the government’s advice. “If the government doesn’t buy cotton, farmers will sell it to cotton mills,” said Ramayya, a farmer of Yelllareddipet, who is cultivating only maize this kharif.

According to Geetha, Agriculture Officer, Chinnakodur mandal, farmers claim that they had at least got their investment back on cotton crop last year and that they couldn’t get back their money for maize. That was holding some of the farmers from shunning cotton this year, she feels.
“Farmers have just sowed the seeds now.

When the plants reach the vegetative stage in two or three weeks, we will know exactly how much cotton they are cultivating after we carry out a survey. Until then, we cannot be sure about what is the extent of the cotton crop. But the trend suggests that farmers are abstaining from cotton cultivation to a large extent,” she said.

It may be recalled that recently the Indian government had signed an agreement with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at a meeting held in Nairobi to remove incentives on cotton exports.