The worries of cotton growers in Yadgir district persist for two reasons. One is low production and the other is a price crash in the open market.
The target of cotton sowing in the Kharif season for the district was 1.86 lakh hectares. Of this, 1.78 lakh hectares were covered. Pre-monsoon rains that the district experienced revived hopes among growers in rain-fed areas for a good yield. But, when there was a shortage in the expected rains, they started managing water-standing crops via tankers on rent. This has left many farmers more worried and as a result of short rainfall; they are now getting 4 to 5 quintals of yield per acre. If they had seen good rains, the production would have reached up to 10-12 quintals per acre.
“Many of farmers in our and surrounding villages have got just 3-4 quintals yield per acre due to shortage of rains. Now, they are worried about even half of the return of what they spent for sowing seeds, chemicals, fertilizers and rent for tanker water,” Vijay Kumar Gulagi, a farmer in Satyampet village in Shorapur taluk, told The Hindu.
The price in the open market has drastically reduced. Last year, farmers sold cotton at ₹8,000 to ₹9,000 per quintal. This has prompted farmers who grew high quantities of cotton to wait for higher prices than this. But, suddenly, the price crashed to ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 per quintal.
“I have sold my 40 quintals of last year’s cotton at a price of ₹7,100 per quintal after long waiting wherein I had hoped for around ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 per quintal. Having no hopes of a higher price, I did not wait and sold last year’s cotton and now am prepared to sell this year’s too at the present market price of ₹6,800 to ₹7,000,” Mr. Gulagi said.
When farmers are under distress, they are just waiting for any solutions for price crash by the Union and State governments.
“Unfortunately, neither the Union nor the State government is helping farmers as they are not interested in uplifting the farmers from the current crises. They are now busy with elections and occupying power. Under such circumstances, farmers cannot expect more from the governments,” Chamaras Malipatil, Honorary president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, criticised.
Giving suggestions for the crises, Channappa Anegundi, district president of Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha, said that the Union government should fix a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹12,000 for cotton and purchase it through procurement centers to expert to foreign countries as there is a high demand for Indian Cotton.
