Should the Union government, represented by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), or private traders for that matter insist on implementing the rather rigid rule related to moisture content in cotton, which has made its trading a conundrum since the last decade or so?
Farmers in Adilabad are questioning the logic behind insistence of moisture content regulation for cotton grown under extraordinary climatic conditions besides pointing out the inadequacy of the method.
The beginning of cotton trade in Adilabad, which is among the larger markets in India, has been an emotional event for farmers since they got acquainted with the moisture regulation. No trading inaugural since the last few years has gone without protests being staged by farmers and this year was no different. The CCI refused to purchase the produce that has higher moisture content than the upper limit of 12 per cent under its MSP operations. Private traders insisted on proportional deduction in price as more moisture means poor quality.
“The weather this year impacted the quality of cotton, which should have made the government suspend the moisture content regulation at least till November-end. Moreover, the method of determining it is not exact or foolproof as the values vary every time the electrodes are inserted in cotton even at the same spot,” opined farmer leader B. Goverdhan Reddy.
“Moisture in cotton differs as per the positioning of the boll on the plant and the spacing in which the plants exist in a field. The bolls at the bottom absorb more moisture as they are not exposed to sun or wind,” pointed out agriculture scientist and coordinator of Adilabad Agriculture Advisory and Transfer of Technology Centre Sudhanshu Kasbe.
The experience of the last several years reveals that more wetness content in cotton can be seen for the first 30 to 45 days of trading and the quality of produce improves as the season progresses. “Notwithstanding the thick early morning dew, cotton quality improves December onwards as the air is dry and devoid of humidity,” Dr. Kasbe added.
“Whenever weather conditions are bad, the government should ignore rules and purchase all wet cotton till November-end,” Mr. Goverdhan Reddy suggested.
