Telangana Farmers Protest Over Cotton Purchases Falling Below MSP
By ashish wagh 2024-11-16 11:28:31
Farmers in Telangana Demonstrate When Cotton Purchases Drop Below MSP
Cotton farmers in Telangana are expressing concern as traders in the Khammam agricultural market yard are reportedly buying their harvest at prices below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) set by the central government. Farmers have voiced their displeasure, alleging that the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) is offering lower-than-expected purchasing rates.
K. Nageswara Rao, a farmer from Julurpad village, said, “The highest price we received was ₹6,850 per quintal, and only a few farmers managed to get this rate.” The government has set the MSP at ₹7,521 per quintal.
N. Ganesh from Pallipadu lamented, “We expected the government to announce a price between ₹8,000 and ₹11,000 per quintal. Instead, traders are purchasing cotton at ₹6,400 per quintal, which is below the MSP, causing significant losses for us.”
Farmers further accused traders of manually determining the moisture content of the crop instead of using machines, alleging that a syndicate has been formed to manipulate prices.
Although District Collector Muzamil Khan visited the market yard and warned traders against buying below MSP, farmers claim that there has been no change in their approach.
K. Praveen Kumar Reddy, Secretary of the Khammam cotton market yard, stated, “We have issued notices to the traders regarding this issue and are awaiting their response. The matter will be escalated to the Collector once replies are received.”
Approximately 45,000 bags of cotton are arriving daily at the yard from across the erstwhile Khammam district.
