Hyderabad, Oct. 27:
Thousands of farmers sowed more cotton this year after prices topped Rs 6,500 a quintal last year. Some shifted from chilli while others shunned tobacco and sugarcane to shoot up the cotton acreage to 18.55 lakh hectares as against the season average of 13.51 lakh ha.
But nothing has gone right. Delay in announcing seed price and erratic rainfall have forced farmers to buy seeds more than once in most parts of Telangana region. “I had to sow 12 packets of seed for three acres to make most of scanty rainfall,” Mr T. Rajaiah, a farmer from Warangal, told Business Line over phone.
Though advised to sow one packet an acre, farmers generally go for two packets to tackle problems of insufficient germination. Growth of weed and erratic power (that accentuated during the 42-day general strike for statehood fro Telangana) only added to the cost of production. A dry spell of 45 days in most parts worsened the situation, starving the plants of moisture in the crucial growth phase.
Cost of production has gone up to Rs 40,000-45,000 an acre from Rs 30,000 last year, with farmers buying at Rs 2,000 a packet in the black market following fears of shortage of stocks. Farmers like Mr Rajaiah did a survey involving about 100 of them and arrived at this figure for the season. Cost of fertilisers, too, went up significantly. Acreage went up to five lakh ha from four lakh ha in Warangal.
Mr Inna Reddy, who heads the Cotton Interest Group recently set up by Federation of Farmers' Association, said the cost of production for a quintal would be Rs 3,500. But what they are getting at the Yenumamula market yard in Warangal is about Rs 3,300. “Though they are officially saying it is Rs 4,200, only a fraction of the produce is getting that,” Mr Rajaiah said.
Low yields
“We are expecting a drop of 50 per cent in yields. As against normal yield of 10-12 quintals, we can expect only 5-6 quintals. Some areas in Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam might get two quintals more. This is going to be a tough season for farmers. They will end up in losses,” Mr Inna Reddy said.
“The acreage would have crossed the 20-lakh ha mark this year had rains arrived on time. Several farmers shifted from tobacco and some from chilli in Guntur district, he said.
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