Cyclone aftermath in Telangana: Farmers hit by crop loss, low MSP and procurement chaos

Cotton farmers across Telangana are facing severe losses due to unseasonal rains, pest infestations, and procurement hurdles. With yields dropping and moisture levels high, CCI has reduced quotas, forcing farmers into distress sales below MSP. Protests have erupted, and many farmers are turning to daily wage work under MGNREGA as debts mount.

Hyderabad: Unseasonal rains triggered by Cyclone Montha‘s aftermath have ravaged Telangana’s cotton belt, damaging over 61,000 hectares across 12 districts and impacting yields by 10-15 percent due to pink bollworm infestations and boll rot.

With procurement centres struggling amid high moisture levels, and reduced quotas by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), farmers are enduring losses of Rs.1,000 or more per quintal below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs.8,110. They are forced to resort to distress sales to private traders at Rs 5,500-7,200 per quintal. Statewide, the scale of procurement remained the lowest compared to the expected 28 lakh tonnes by now.

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Nalgonda district alone saw just 4,400 quintals bought in a month despite the opening of the procurement centre with fanfare. In key markets like Warangal’s Enumamula yard, handling thousands of quintals daily, heavy downpours on November 4 drenched arrivals of cotton and maize, leading the CCI and private buyers to reject loads exceeding 12% moisture.

Farmers like 55-year-old K. Ramulu from Hanamkonda lost Rs 10,000 after his 10 quintals were rejected and sold at Rs 7,100 per quintal. Similar chaos grips Adilabad with over 4.34 lakh acres under cotton. The procurement in the district started on October 24. Private offers hover at Rs 7,000, much below the MSP. Adding to their distress, efforts to dry the cotton were disrupted by tiger sightings too.

In Nalgonda, the State’s largest cultivator with 5.68 lakh acres, the Munugode centre, one of the biggest, witnessed sluggish activity due to the strict mandatory guidelines under the Kapas Kisan App.

It is forcing farmers to dry their cotton on rooftops amid humidity. Yields have plummeted, from 10-12 quintals per acre last year, to 6-8 this season. The first picking (25% of crop) yield is just 1.45 lakh MT as projected, but CCI procured less than one per cent of it so far.

The second picking (70% of output) is delayed by 20 days, risking further degradation. Cotton farmers staged protests in Mahabubnagar and Jogulamba Gadwal over CCI’s cut in procurement from 12 to 10 quintals per acre. In Khammam and Karimnagar, where daily arrivals are picking up, farmers complain about tough regulations.

With even traders trying to exploit the situation, the farmers are moving to neighbouring markets in Andhra Pradesh or Maharashtra. Farmers complain further that they had to spend this year 20 % additionally on the inputs. It was more so with hybrid seeds and fertilizers. Many of them ended up joining the MGNREGA operations for daily wages amid deepening debts.

Government interventions include an offer of Rs 10,000 per acre as crop compensation for the cyclone-affected farmers, but they are yet to receive any help as the enumeration is still in progress.

Telangana anticipates 53-55 lakh bales from abundant early rains that boost the prospects. But the same rains experienced in abundance towards the fag end of the season now ironically shatter the hopes of the farmers.

Private traders are dominating the marketing operations with networks working in their favour in reselling. It has put the traders in advantage while farmers are left to languish at the receiving end. A majority of them had received less than Rs 6,200 per quintal for their harvest from the first picking.