The district administration here has estimated that cotton production this season would be about 60 lakh quintals and proposes to open sufficient number of purchase centres to facilitate smooth procurement operations.
Reviewing the state of cotton production and arrangements for its procurement in the district, the District Collector Gaurav Uppal along with officials from Agriculture, Marketing and representatives of ginning mills, said on Wednesday that measures were being taken to ensure the Government-announced minimum support price (MSP) for cotton is delivered to farmers without any hassles.
“Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has agreed to set up procurement centres in Kondamallepally, Chityala, Mall, Miryalaguda, Chandur and Nakrekal mandals,” he said.
In addition to it, arrangements for 13 more ginning mills in the district should also be notified soon, he instructed the officials.
Advising farmers to observe caution regarding moisture content in cotton, as it would determine prices, he said, long-staple cotton with 8% moisture will be paid ₹4, 320 per quintal and those containing up to 12% would fetch ₹4, 147.20 per quintal.
Medium-staple cotton will fetch ₹4,020 for the same quantity.
“Farmers bringing cotton with moisture less than 8% will be given an additional 1% incentive value of that same quality,” he added.
Carry ID Cards
He further advised the farmers to carry valid ID cards issued by the Marketing Department when they approach the CCI centres and a photocopy of their account passbooks to help credit the sale proceeds directly into the beneficiary’s accounts.
“All such centres will be supervised by a district-level officer and no complaint arising out of procurement issues will be taken lightly,” Mr. Uppal cautioned.
