The Maharashtra government has announced emergency measures to tackle the widespread pink bollworm (PBW) infestation in parts of the State. It will set up 16-member committees in each district to monitor relief measures and minimise economic losses to farmers.
The committees will function under the district collector. Experts, farmers and representatives of seed companies will be on board as well. The committees will meet every 15 days to take stock of the situation and work on campaigns to create awareness, and if need be put in place emergency measures, senior officials of the State Agriculture Department said. “Of the total 42 lakh hectares of cotton crop the infestation has already damaged 83%, forcing us to implement, on a war footing, measures at the district level,” an official said.
The State government served notices to 12 seed firms on notice after their products were found infested. The firms were supplying products in the districts of Aurangabad, Akola, Jalna, Buldhana, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Osmanabad. The government floated a cluster of compensation schemes for smaller farmers and passed a resolution demanding that seed companies take responsibility for giving compensation, even threatening to register FIRs if this was not done.
The farmers have raised concerns that the infestation would reduce the area under cotton crop by at least 10% resulting in low yield and drop in prices.
Farmers’ associations have alleged that the government has failed to react on time and create adequate awareness. “We have additionally moved a proposal to the Centre to give us financial assistance to the tune of ₹2,500 crore,” said an official.
An estimated 35 lakh hectare of cotton crop has already been lost due to the pest, which feeds on cotton fibre and bolls. The losses in Vidarbha and Yavatmal have been assessed at ₹3,414 crore.
