Angry farmers destroy cotton crops in 3 districts

WARANGAL: Angered over lack of remunerative prices for their crop, scores of cotton farmers in Warangal, Karimnagar and Khammam districts destroyed their fields on Saturday. Some of them used tractors to level the standing crop, while others allowed cattle to graze in the fields.
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has so far purchased only 22 quintals from farmers in Warangal district.Farmers also complained that the crop was hit by pests, resulting in low yield.As against Rs 30,000 spent on growing cotton per acre, the returns did not cross Rs 10,000.
The current price per quintal of cotton is Rs 3,500. This is against the minimum support price of Rs 4,320. The yield has also come down drastically, affecting the income of farmers. And with no help coming from the state or central government, farmers protested by damage their standing crop.
In Warangal district, farmers allowed buffaloes and goats to feed on the crop while in Karimnagar district, they set it on fire. In Khammam, some farmers ran tractors over the fields. Farmers in Sriramulapally and Madipally in Jammikunta mandal of Karimnagar district burnt their crops. Their plantation had been hit by pink worm.
Suram Ramana Reddy of Ammavaripeta village in Atmakur mandal bulldozed his crops. “I cultivated cotton on 10 acres and spent Rs 25,000 on labour employed for picking. The input cost per acre was Rs 30,000. For the total 10 acres, I had invested RS 3 lakh,“ he said, while mowing down the crop. Other farmers in the area soon followed suit. L Satish and Somaiah, farmers in Sriramulapally village, also burnt their crops.
The CCI officials are refusing to purchase cotton if the moisture content is high. CCI has set a norm of eight per cent moisture. But due to rains that lashed the state till about two weeks ago, most of the crop has high moisture content. Many farmers have been pushed into debt trap.
Cotton was grown on 6.20 lakh hectares in Warangal district. But seed failure and pest took a heavy toll on the yield.