Whitefly attack: Punjab wants Cotton Corp to rescue farmers

Worried at the already reported cotton crop losses and reported suicides by farmers, the government of Punjab wants intervention by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).

Fearing distress sales by farmers to repay their debts, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar on Sunday in this regard.

Farmers in the state’s cotton growing districts are protesting on railway tracks, demanding a higher compensation for loss due to crop damage. The CM had invited farmer leaders for a discussion on Monday evening.

The price in Punjab’s wholesale markets (mandis) is Rs 4,300-4,400 a quintal, above the minimum support price (set by the Centre) of Rs 4,000 a qtl. Crop infested by whitefly is being taken at Rs 3,000-3,500 a qtl at some places.

B K Mishra, chairman of CCI, says he’s not got a communication from the Centre on the issue but his organisation was prepared to run 19 procurement centres in Punjab and 300 pan-India. “We will rise to the occasion. We did not get any report of distress selling in Punjab but are prepared to buy if need be. CCI can intervene only if the price falls below the benchmark MSP,” he said.

There are reports of deteriorating quality where the crop was damaged. Jaswinder Singh, a farmer at village Mehma Sarja in Bathinda district says he’s harvested cotton that has a black tinge. This is present due to whitefly excreta. The crop has been saved but the quality is below average. He is trying to sell to private buyers at any price.

CCI procured 120,000 bales (each 170 kg) in the 2014-15 season from Punjab at the MSP and 70,000 bales in 2013-14 at the market price. A CCI official told Business Standard they were watching the price movement but would intervene only when the price was near or below the MSP. CCI has a buffer of 1.7 million bales from the earlier season and is liquidating 25,000 to 30,000 quintals a day, said Mishra. With new crop arrivals picking up, CCI might moderate its sales to avoid price disruption. The chairman said harvesting was still at a nascent stage and it was too soon to estimate the procurement.