Ap Moots Board To Control Cotton Cultivation
A statutory body, on the lines of the Tobacco Board, is being mooted by the Andhra Pradesh government to regulate regions under cotton cultivation.
The proposed body will confine cotton crop to specific pockets in the state, will exercise control over the quality of seeds and pesticides and also oversee credit to the farmers.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu yesterday said, an in-depth study has been conducted into the problems faced by the farmers in the wake of 23 the tillers committing suicide in the past one month.
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He said the adverse conditions had arisen mainly due to large scale pest invasion. The state chief minister traced the sudden pest appearance to prolonged drought conditions followed by heavy rains.
The farmers had also obtained loans from money lenders at exorbitant interest rates and this compounded their difficulties. Less than 16 percent of the credit needs of the cotton farmers came from the co-operative credit institutions and the rest had to be obtained from private sources, he said.
Naidu informed that he has asked the Centre to release Rs 250 crore forthwith to provide relief to the cotton farmers.
He said that he had contacted Prime Minister, I K Gujral, finance minister, P Chidambaram and agriculture minister, Chaturanan Mishra, who promised an immediate release of Rs 50 crore.