The resumption of limited period operations for purchase of cotton by the Cotton Corporation of India on April 29 has ensured that all the cotton farmers in Adilabad district end the kharif season on a happy note. The CCI has identified the cotton, an estimated 50,000 quintals of it, which could not be brought to the markets from villages owing to the sudden lockdown in March. The window for purchase ending Wednesday is expected to provide relief to farmers.
“The bulk of purchases have already been made at the minimum support price of ₹ 5,550 per quintal (MSP) by the CCI before the lockdown and almost all farmers have received payments too,” pointed out Jainad Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society chairman B. Goverdhan Reddy whose representation to the district administration to allow the Corporation to procure the remaining cotton had started the limited period process on April 29. “We have purchased about 50 lakh quintals of cotton through the 25 purchase centres under Adilabad branch which is almost double the quantum of that is generally expected to arrive in the markets,” CCI General Manager Sanjay Kumar revealed.
The comparatively huge quantum of trading resulted in the CCI making about 10 lakh cotton bales this season. This is about an eighth of the production in terms of cotton bales all over the country though Mahabubnagar and Warangal branches of the CCI, also in Telangana, had produced about 14 lakh bales each.
The higher production of bales resulted in the Corporation hunting for storage space which, it mercifully found in different places. It has rented godown space in Mancherial, Bodhan in Nizamabad distirct and Manoharabad in Medak district among others as the processing is complete.
As far as the current short phase of purchase is concerned, the Assistant Agriculture Officers in respective mandals have issued tokens to individual farmers, as identified after evaluation for quality done by the CCI. The tokens show the schedule according to which individual farmers bring their produce to Adilabad market yard.
The processing of cotton will be done only in one processing unit where the power supply has not been withdrawn. The usual practice is that the power supply to cotton processing units is withdrawn on April 20 of every year when the kharif season ends.
