Nagpur: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has issued instructions to register crimes if traders do not buy cotton at the minimum support price (MSP). The mandate is not new but during the cabinet meeting on Monday, Fadnavis again stressed on its implementation besides strict monitoring of cotton procurement.
Cotton growers of Vidarbha, who had held back their crop in the hope of getting better prices, are now disappointed.
Needing cash, farmers have started selling cotton, but they are getting rates below the MSP, which is Rs 7,020 per quintal for the long staple grade.
If the cotton is taken to the ginning mill, the market rates range between ₹6,800 to ₹6,500. Some farmers TOI spoke to said that if the producer sells directly from the farm, the rate is ₹6,100 to ₹6,000.
According to farmers, private ginners are paying less by saying that the quality is inferior. A group of farmers in Yavatmal had submitted a memorandum to the district collector seeking his intervention in ensuring fair price of cotton.
Manish Jadhav of Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha said that the memorandum states that the government should take action against traders who are paying less than the MSP. It was also demanded that the Cotton Corporation of India
(CCI) should open more centers in the area.
Sources in the state agricultural marketing department said that even though farmers have to sell cotton at MSP to CCI, it has to be of a certain grade called Fair Average Quality (FAQ). CCI does not buy cotton below FAQ. He said that even traders should buy only FAQ grade at MSP.
FAQ There are basic minimum requirements such as mature cotton in bolls, staple length and moisture. The farmer said that the quality has been affected due to unseasonal rains, which has led to rejection.
According to a state government source, a large quantity of cotton is still of FAQ grade and should be purchased at MSP by traders. “However, farmers are not getting a fair deal from traders,” the source said.
This year, Maharashtra State Cotton Producers Marketing Federation has not entered into MSP procurement. The federation buys cotton and sells it to CCI. However, now only CCI has procurement centres, which may lead to reduced reach, sources said.
Meanwhile, a senior CCI official said 120 procurement centers have been opened across the state and 11 lakh quintals of cotton has been purchased so far. “There is not much crowd of farmers at the centres. The quantity purchased is not unprecedented. The quality has been affected due to rain in some parts of the state. Some farmers with additional superior grades are getting prices above the MSP,” the official said.
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