Adilabad: Cotton farmers stare at bleak future, wait for help

Adilabad: No distribution of Rythu Bandhu so far to the farmers having more than five acres of land, no crop loans to most of the farmers and delay in crop loan waiver is haunting cotton farmers in addition to the deficit rain in the Kharif season in Adilabad district.

Under these circumstances, many cotton farmers have not paid the premium for the Crop insurance under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (Weather-based crop insurance).

The general practice is that banks cut the amount directly towards the premium for crop insurance from the crop loan but it has not been done because crop loans have been given to most of the farmers.

Other farmers who did not get the crop loan, have to pay the premium amount towards the crop insurance at the Mee Seva centres but farmers have failed to do so because they do not have the money.  The last date for the payment of the premium of Rs 1,750 per acre for cotton crop insurance was July 15.

Out of the total 13 mandals, eight mandals are facing deficit rainfall while four had normal rainfall while one of them had excessive rains between July 1 and July 16.  Even the excessive rainfall was only 20 per cent in Narnoor mandal while deficit rainfall was recorded in Bela, Indravelli, Gudihathnoor, Adilabad Rural, Tamsi,  Talamadugu, Boath, and Ichoda mandals while there was normal rainfall in Jainad, Bazarhathnoor, and  Neredigonda and Utnoor mandals.

According to official sources, cotton crop was cultivated in eight lakh acres in the Old Adilabad district while it is three lakhs acres during this kharif season in the new Adilabad district.   

The need of the hour was for farmers to enrol their names into the crop insurance under the Pradan Mantri Fasal Bheema yojana, said officials.

Agriculture officials say cotton farmers will lose huge investment on seeds and weeding and other agricultural operations that they had spent on so far if rains did not come in the next three days. Former assistant joint director of agriculture, Adilabad, C. Narsingu said that the coming four days was crucial to save the cotton crop.  

He added that the cotton crop was not so affected by deficit rainfall where the crop had been cultivated in black soil but pointed out that moisture evaporated and the cotton plant withered easily when cultivated in other soils in old Adilabad district.