Maharashtra: CCI Cotton Procurement: CCI's cotton procurement slows
Akola: The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has begun the process of procuring cotton at guaranteed prices, but procurement has yet to gain momentum due to various technical and administrative difficulties. Over 350,000 farmers have registered so far in nine districts of Vidarbha. However, only 21,314 farmers' names have been verified and approved. Approximately 290,000 farmers are awaiting verification. The information of 13,921 farmers has been rejected due to technical reasons.
District-wise Procurement Centers
A total of 89 centers have been allocated for cotton procurement, including nine in Akola, 14 in Amravati, nine in Buldhana, ten in Chandrapur, one in Gadchiroli, 11 in Nagpur, 13 in Wardha, four in Washim, and 18 in Yavatmal. For this season's cotton procurement, the CCI has made a mobile app available for farmers to register. When registering through this app, farmers are required to attach their crop rotation, Aadhaar card, and photograph. Verification of this information has been assigned to state government agencies, and this work is being done at the market committee level. However, due to delays in the verification process, many farmers are having to wait to sell their cotton at procurement centers.
This season, the CCI has approved a total of 89 procurement centers in nine districts of Vidarbha, most of which are operational or in the process of being operational. It has been reported that approximately 16,500 quintals of cotton have been procured at the centers so far. Intermittent rains caused a slight delay in the cotton harvest season, but farmers are now gradually arriving at the centers to sell their cotton. Sources expressed hope that the verification process will accelerate in the coming days and procurement will pick up.
The responsibility for verifying the information of farmers registered for cotton sales is primarily assigned to the market committee level. However, this process is running slowly. Inadequate arrangements are delaying cotton sales. In some places, a large number of applications have been rejected due to errors made by farmers while submitting information into the app.
No objection certificates issued due to delay in market fee payment
The failure to commence procurement at the Akot Market Committee in Akola district has created confusion. The market committee administration had not issued no objection certificates to 22 ginning operators in Akot because they had not paid the market fee. As a result, cotton procurement centers are unable to open.
As soon as this issue came to light, District Sub-Registrar Geetesh Chandra Sable immediately wrote a letter to the CCI and the Market Committee on Wednesday (12th), directing them to convene a meeting at the District Collector's office on Thursday (13th) with all the information. Additionally, the district's Member of Parliament, Anup Dhotre, also wrote a letter addressing the issue, directing immediate procurement. The administration took steps to resolve the issue. No-objection certificates were immediately issued to 10 buyers in Akot.
