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Tribal Cotton farmers losing incentives due to lack of awareness
Highlights
The tribal farmers of State and especially Aliabad are now in state of exploitation. In the latest instance, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and private cotton traders are depriving them of the precious ‘incentive’ on the minimum support price (MSP) when the produce is of top grade.
The tribal farmers of State and especially Aliabad are now in state of exploitation. In the latest instance, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and private cotton traders are depriving them of the precious ‘incentive’ on the minimum support price (MSP) when the produce is of top grade.
Adilabad is on the northern tip of Telangana Stat not affected by the deficit monsoon is likely to emerge as a top cotton trading unit in 2015-2016 given the expectations of a bumper yield, but which has left an adverse impact on almostevery cotton growing area in the country. The yield of cotton this year is anticipated to be in the range of 8 quintals to 10 quintals per acre. The area under the crop being over 3.17 lakh hectares, the total produce would be in the vicinity of 70 lakh quintals.
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has started to purchase of cotton under its MSP operations in the district, from October 13 onwards. As the current price of cottonseed is a high of about Rs. 2,000 per quintal, the chances of private traders entering the fray is also higher.
The entry of private traders may keep the price of the ‘white gold’ higher than the MSP of Rs. 4,100 per quintal for top quality cotton containing less moisture, in October without incentives to farmers, whose cotton is having less than 8 percent moisture.
The average investment remained comparatively lesser at Rs. 18,000 per acre this season owing to rainfall occurring at desired intervals. The improved yields will therefore ensure healthy profits for farmers.
According to relevant guidelines, the CCI gives the MSP of Rs. 4,100 per quintal on cotton, which has 8 per cent moisture content, a rule which the private traders have also been following. It deducts one per cent of the MSP – or Rs. 41 – for every per cent of increase in moisture content, subject to a top limit of 12 percent.
For cotton, the base line moisture content of kapas shall be 8 percent, while it will be a proportionate incentive, which has less than 8 per cent moisture content; the CCI pays an incentive of Rs. 41 per quintal for every per cent of the decrease. The incentive will be made on the basis of rate per quintal of Kapas on pro-rata basis. The logic behind such incentive is that the cotton which dries up because of being left unpicked for longer duration's also loses weight in theprocess.
In the agency tracts of the district, picking of cotton is usually quite a slow process, but it improves the quality of the produce when compared to other cotton growing areas. But most of the tribals are lamenting that they are not aware that their produce merits such incentive.
Unlike their stand in the initial days of trading, the CCI and private traders are now silent on the moisture content issue when the arrivals conform to higher grade cotton. Fearing deduction of money for moisture, the ignorant Adivasis sell their produce to private traders outside the market yards and get cheated both in terms of price and weight.
Moreover, the CCI is not paying the incentive on the pretext that the tribals produce is of low grade owing to higher trash content and decrease in micronaire (maturity and fineness of the cotton fibre).
Nevertheless, the CCI is going slow on its cotton MSP operations this year. It has so far purchased only about 4 lakh quintals from about 16,500 farmers, mostly in non-agency areas, against the 11 lakh quintals the previous year.
However, the experience of last season shows that it is difficult for the farmer and the CCI to weigh the produce in the concerned market yard and transport it further to the factory. The government, on its part will need to open sub market yards at places like Bellampalli, Kadem, Neredigonda, Sonala etc. where ginning factories are located even 22 km away from the market yard.Private traders, on the other hand, have already purchased about 11 lakh quintals against 70,000 plus quintals last year.
Now it is time for CCI and the government to create awareness to the tribals about the incentives that they are deserved on account of less moisture cotton they produce and NGOs also have to play big role to awaken the tribals on this issue.
G.Rajendra Kumar
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