Telangana govt to start cotton purchasing operations soon

The Telangana state government has taken decision to provide cotton farmers remunerative prices for their produce, as private cotton traders and middlemen were exploiting cotton farmers while branches of the Cotton Corporation of India have become mere spectators. It will start its cotton purchasing operations by the harvesting season of next kharif for the first time, if everything goes smoothly and also will be establishing ginning factories in old Adilabad district.

The move assumed importance in view of the coming elections and the move is aimed to see that there will not be unrest among the farming community.

The state government is establishing ginning factories under TS Markfed (Telangana State Co-Operative Marketing Federation Ltd) for the purpose. A new ginning factory was established with Rs5 crore in Adilabad district and it about to start its functioning.

The state government will purchase cotton produce through Rythu Coordination Samithis being established and make the bales with the purchased cotton produce in its ginning factory, stock the bales in the godowns and sell the same when there will be good price in the open market.

The Markfed Adilabad branch has already a godown with 5,000 metric tonnes capacity and now new godown with 10,000 metric tons capacity at a cost of Rs7 crore is being constructed in the Markfed premises in Adilabad town.

The state government is planning to establish ginning factories in old Adilabad, Warangal and Khammam districts, where cotton cultivation is high in the state and purchase cotton produce from the farmers through Rythu Coordination Samithis.

Sources said that the state government may allocate Rs5,000 crore in the next state budget for the state-level Rythu Coordination Samiti for the purchase of cotton and other produce from the farmers.

According to reliable sources, proposal sent to the state government requesting to sanction a ginning factory in Jainad mandal headquarters where the government land was available for the construction of ginning factory.

According to farmer Swamy of Battisavargoan in Adilabad Rural mandal, the state government’s efforts for establishing ginning factories and purchase cotton from the farmers will go a long way for the welfare of the farmers and farmers get remunerative prices.

Minister for forest and Environment Jogu Ramanna said that the state government was trying to provide good remunerative prices to their produce, especially cotton, and likely to purchase cotton from the farmers through its own establishment