Adilabad: Many cotton farmers have suffered losses due to untimely rains during past two days and continued foggy weather in erstwhile Adilabad district. Cotton crop standing in fields is drenched. There is a possibility of the bolls becoming black. There will not be much demand for such cotton with high moisture content in the market.
Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) pays an MSP of ₹7,020 per quintal of cotton with less than eight per cent moisture. The price of cotton starts coming down as the moisture content increases.
Incidentally, picking of cotton has got delayed due to shortage of labour. Most of the labourers preferred going to public meetings, party rallies and election campaigns and getting paid rather than working and getting paid.
Sudeep of Gone village in Bheempur mandal said his standing cotton crop is drenched in the rain. It will cause him a huge loss in terms of
Further, many cotton farmers are worried about possible pests attacking the drenched cotton as well as the red gram crop they have sown in case the same weather conditions prevail for a few more days.
Some of the farmers have picked their cotton bolls and are drying them up in their houses. Many are waiting for the sun to come up once weather conditions improve.
Suresh Kumar of Jannaram in Mancherial district said they have suffered a loss as they could not get their standing cotton picked due to shortage of agriculture labourers in the past 15 days.
Along with standing cotton crop, red gram has also suffered damage due to rains in the last two days in erstwhile Adilabad district.
