CCI requests farmers to bring cotton crop in phased manner

Facing farmers’ anger over a daily ceiling for cotton procurement, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) on Monday tried to pacify them with an assurance to continue procurement while requesting them to bring their crops in a “phased manner”.

In an official appeal to farmers on Monday, the CCI management requested the district administration and Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMCs) to regulate kapas (raw cotton) arrivals in market yards in such a way that fair average quality (FAQ) grade of kapas brought by farmers can be sold, weighed and billed on the same day so that farmers need not stand in long queues and face difficulty in selling their produce.

The CCI management has also appealed to all cotton growers to bring their crop in a phased manner as per the advice of the respective APMCs.

The Centre has fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for season 2020-21 of ₹5,825 per quintal for the long staple variety of cotton. At Rajkot markets, cotton prices quoted at ₹5,425 a quintal on Monday.

The nominated nodal agency of the Government of India for undertaking procurement of cotton under MSP, CCI came under fire from farmers and political leaders for restricting daily procurements at its centers.

After farmers across cotton-growing regions including Gujarat, Punjab and other parts faced difficulty in selling their crop at the procurement centers due to daily limit set by the CCI, the Central body came up with its appeal to farmers citing the heavy rush of cotton arrivals as a reason of trouble for farmers.

CCI said that it has opened 440 MSP procurement centers at 140 districts in 11 cotton-growing states under 15 branch offices.

“So far CCI has procured 352 lakh quintals of kapas in a period of three months as against 130 lakh quintals in the corresponding period of last year. Current MSP procurement is around 300 {f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} more than last year,” a CCI statement said.

“Due to unregulated heavy kapas arrivals in market yards, the farmers are facing hardship and compelled to wait in long queues for days together in selling their produce and processing capacities are also under tremendous pressure,” it said while assuring farmers that CCI will remain present for procurements till September 30, 2021, and shall procure entire FAQ grade kapas from farmers to save them from distress sale in case of a fall in the prices.