Maharashtra: Farmers' organization seeks PM's intervention to lift CCI's ban on cotton procurement
Nagpur : The Council for Protection of Farmers' Rights-Kisan Bharti has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene to direct the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to withdraw its restrictive cotton procurement rules that impact the state's farmers.
In his appeal to the PM, CPFR-Kisan Bharti President Barrister Vinod Tiwari said that the CCI's recent move – limiting cotton procurement to just 7 quintals/acre, almost half the previous limit of 13 quintals/acre – has exacerbated the hardships faced by millions of cotton farmers in Maharashtra and neighboring Telangana.
Tiwari said, "This absurd reduction in the limit, made after the yield survey this Kharif season, has forced farmers to sell nearly 80 percent of their produce to private traders at very low prices. This has exacerbated the already severe hardship on the farms." Given the reduction, farmers have no option but to sell their cotton stock at around ₹6,500/quintal or less, which is about 25% less than the MSP of ₹8,110/quintal.
The worst affected are farmers who produce more than 5 quintals/acre, who, due to restrictions, cannot sell their entire produce to CCI and, therefore, sell it to any private buyer at a much lower rate and well below the MSP.
He said, “The crisis is being exacerbated by CCI's stringent moisture requirements of 8-12%, which are difficult to maintain. Given fog, intermittent rains, and the drop in winter temperatures, cotton naturally has a high moisture level. Despite drying in the open for several days, farmers report moisture levels of 20% or more, and their stock is simply rejected at CCI procurement centers.” Citing an example, CPFR-Kisan Bharti stated that in Yavatmal district alone, 236,752 farmers cultivated cotton on 825,932 acres, yielding approximately 3.3 million quintals.
However, of this huge quantity, the CCI purchased barely 7,921 quintals, and private traders purchased approximately 115,000 quintals at low prices—exposing the gap between government promises and ground reality.
Farmers lamented that the CCI's onerous rules are pushing them directly into the clutches of private traders, who bargain hard to obtain cotton stocks at low prices.
CPFR-Kisan Bharti stated that barely a few of the 27 procurement centers announced by the CCI are operational, leading to long queues, increased transportation costs, and logistical problems for already distressed farmers.
Tiwari said, “Our demand is to increase procurement to at least 12 quintals/acre, reduce the moisture limit to 22% due to natural calamities, and open more procurement centers to speed up the process.”
Since the CCI is the nodal agency for MSP procurement, it is expected to protect the interests of farmers, not punish them for things beyond its control. Therefore, the PM should immediately direct the CCI to provide necessary assistance to farmers before taking any drastic action, he said.
read more :- “CCI keeps prices stable, sells 92% of cotton in e-auction”
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