Centre’s move to hike BT Cotton prices brings ‘white gold’ tears to Telangana farmers

HYDERABAD: The Narendra Modi-led NDA government is often loathed by the opposition for a series of its anti-farmer measures. A recent measure of the Centre just goes to show why the political rivals simply feel vindicated in their criticism. The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, through a notification dated March 23, 2023, quietly hiked the BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) Cotton seed prices, thus putting an additional burden on an already-stressed farming community in Telangana and across the country.

As per the revised rates mentioned in the notification, the BG-I variety of the BT Cotton hybrid seeds now costs Rs 635 per packet while the price of the BG-II version of seeds has been increased to Rs 853 a packet.

The BT Cotton seed price is fixed every year by the Centre’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The exercise to revise the price is undertaken as per the Essential Commodities Act 1955 and Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order 2015. Ironically, this is another avenue where the Centre can move ahead whimsically on its own with no role whatsoever for the state Agriculture department to play in the price fixation of the Bt cotton seed.

The latest revision roughly translates to an effective increase of Rs 43 on every packet of BT Cotton seeds. Thanks to the Centre’s ruthless move, Cotton, considered ‘white gold’, is bringing tears to the eyes of the farmers in Telangana and across the country. Coming ahead of the Vanakalam (kharif) season, its burden is expected to be enormous on the farmers amid fears of a widespread adverse impact on the crop cultivation and production.

Take the case of Rajanna Sircilla district where cotton is being grown this year in over 80,000 acres in the Vanakalam season, as against one lakh acres in the past. The Centre’s ‘bolt-from-the-blue’ price-hike couldn’t have come at a worse time as the farmers in the district were contemplating cotton cultivation, simultaneously with paddy.

The Rs 43-hike on every packet of BT Cotton seeds may just seem simple on the face of it. But the farmers are already dreading the prospect of the cumulative costs consequent to the latest price-rise. Until last year, the BG-II version BT Cotton hybrid seeds used to cost Rs 810 which was hiked to Rs 853 through the Centre’s notification dated March 23. This means an effective increase of Rs 43 on every packet of seeds.

The costs of fertilisers, pesticides and agricultural labourers adding their might, the farmers of Rajanna Sircilla district are estimated to bear an additional cost of Rs 30 lakh this year. As the BT Cotton seed prices are revised upward every year, a majority of the farmers are compelled to look to the private market to minimise their costs. Most of the cotton-growers prefer the BG-II version of the BT Cotton variety and traditionally use more than two packets per every acre cultivated.

Vanakalam nightmare for cotton-growers

The Vanakalam (kharif) season of last year turned out to be a big nightmare for the farmers of Rajanna Sircilla district. Of the total 2.35 lakh acres in which different crops were irrigated, cotton was grown in over 60,000 acres. Illenthakunta (12,686 acres), Gambhiraopet (756 acres), Sircilla (1,003 acres), Mustabad (1,092 acres), Tangallapalli (1546 acres), Veernapalli (784 acres), Yellareddypet (4,580 acres), Boinapalli (6,577 acres), Chandurthi (6,699 acres), Konaraopet (5,442 acres), Rudrangi (3,568 acres), Vemulavada (5,295 acres) and Vemulavada Rural (4,407 acres) were prominent among the preferred areas for cotton cultivation.

Unfortunately, the cotton-growing farmers suffered heavy losses last year, largely due to excessive rainfall coupled with the pest menace, which resulted in below-par yields. With the prices also crashing down in a cascading effect, farmers were forced to store their produce at their houses in a desperate bid to stabilise the market rates. The poor yield was anywhere between five and six quintals per each acre.

The farmers had to gulp down a heavy deficit as the per-quintal cotton price, which hovered between Rs 10,000 and Rs 14,000 at the beginning of the vanakalam season, plummeted to Rs 7,000 within no time. In a never-ending tale of woes, the farmers also had to endure offshoot problems due to their decision to store the cotton produce at home. Farmers and their family members, especially young children suffered rashes and other skin diseases.