Scrapped notes ruin farmers

​Warangal: In one way or another, problems continue to haunt the cotton farmers in the region. Hitherto they confronted with problems like crop failure or lack of minimum support price (MSP), but this time around, they have found a nemesis in the form of demonetisation with the traders offering them payment in high denomination notes, scrapped a few days ago.

The farmers, who struggled to get MSP to their produce during the corresponding time last year, are in no mood to cheer this year also despite the fact that they get Rs 1,000 more per quintal.

Thanks to the demonetisation affect that landed them in a peculiar dilemma whether to take their payment in the scrapped denominations Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes – or to accept the payment in cheques.

Citing that they have no option, commission agents at the market yards have been offering payments to farmers in high valued notes. The other option commission agents offer to farmers was to accept the cheques.

P Sambaiah, who cultivated cotton on his two-and-a-half acre in Gurijala village under Chennaraopet mandal, poured out his problems. The commission agent at Narsampet Market Yard offered me payment in the high denomination notes.

When I said no, he offered me a cheque. As I know it takes a lot of time to realise, again I said no. Then the answer from the agent was to wait till the demonetisation hiccups were cleared or to take back my produce. Left with no option, I have to return home empty hands.”

On the other hand, market yards in Kesamudram and Mahabubabad have stopped purchases owing to notes problem.Stating that it was an unenviable situation for farmers to confront with, Enumamula market yard secretary Ajmeera Raju told The Hans India: “At least farmers would have been in a position to draw amount in small portions if they had accepted the cheques from the commission agents and credited to their accounts.”

The district administration has made arrangements to provide ‘zero balance’ saving accounts to those farmers, who don’t have hitherto, he said.

It’s learnt that the district administration is also trying to find a solution to problems of hamalis (labourers) working at the market yard. Majority of hamalis have no work for the last few days as the arrivals at the market decreased due to demonetisation.

The Government would have gone for demonetisation of high valued notes after taking proper precautionary measures. Now the move has put farmers, daily wage earners in difficult situation,” TS Rythu Sangham vice-president Sarampally Vasudeva Reddy said.