Farmers lose to new ‘cartel’
Private cotton traders entered the Adilabad market to purchase cotton
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-10-22 05:56 GMT
ADILABAD: After Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) had failed to begin buying as per schedule on Monday, private cotton traders entered the Adilabad market to purchase cotton produce from farmers on Tuesday. The CCI officials refused to offer the MSP of '4,050 a quintal, which was declared by the central government in the name of high moisture content.
This morning, the private traders began buying cotton for Rs3,700 a quintal and it can be anybody’s guess that the CCI had backed off from buying on Monday only to reduce the MSP.
The officials of the CCI, Adilabad market committee and district administration had played a big drama all through Monday, with regard to purchase of cotton. By abstaining from lifting the produce on Monday, the CCI officials have indirectly paved way for the private traders to purchase cotton at a cheaper price, Rs 3,700, irrespective of the moisture content.
News is doing rounds in the political and business circles that private cotton traders had successfully handled the situation and turned it to their favor, in collusion with the CCI and district officials, making the distressed farmers scapegoats.
Recently, the collector held a meeting with the private cotton traders, led by their leaders Gade Vinod, who announced that they would not purchase cotton from farmers at an MSP of Rs4,050 but that they would buy cotton from the farmers if the price is reduced to Rs,600 a quintal. Once again, it is the distressed farmer who is at loss. Having incurred heavy loss due to drought conditions,they now are being forced to suffer more with the low price being offered to their produce.
This year, private cotton traders are more interested in lifting cotton produce from the market, compared to last year when the then collector Ahmed Babu imposed rules to ensure MSP to the farmers.On Monday, when the angry farmers detained district collector M. Jagan Mohan in the weigh bridge room for sometime, private cotton traders were found moving busy in Adilabad market yard and this gives sufficient evidence of how things were handled.
Adilabad RDO A. Sudhakar Reddy said they cannot prevent the private traders from entering the market yard as some of them are also farmers. Minister for forest Jogu Ramanna held a ‘friendly’ meeting with private cotton traders, CCI officials and the collector on Tuesday and discussed the way in which cotton was being purchased at the market yard.