Telangana CM asks farmers not to grow cotton

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Telangana CM K Chandrasekhara Rao has asked the farmers not to grow cotton this kharif season due to the decline of cotton prices globally.

The State government also urged the farmers to sow an alternative crop as the cotton industry was suffering huge losses all around.

Thanks to many non-governmental organizations and social campaigners, the Government has a clear picture with regard to the number of farmer suicides last year. Reports show that the number of farmers committing suicide was more among those who grew cotton. These farmers resorted to such extreme steps due to severe financial problems.

Keeping these numbers in mind the TS government has decided to start a full length campaign to reduce the area under cotton cultivation in the state. The Chief Minister will discuss this issue at the District Collectors’ conference that will be held on April 29 in Hyderabad. To protect the cotton farmers from market risks, the Telangana government has decided to alert them about the global economic crisis. The CM has asked the Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy to direct his officials to prepare an action plan to safeguard the cotton farmers.

During the conference, the government may come up with measures to assist the cotton farmers. There has been a continuous dip in cotton prices for the last three years and the farmers need to be educated about price fluctuations and alternate ways of making use of their land. The Chief Minister intends to stop them in sowing cotton seeds immediately to prevent huge financial losses and save their lives.

According to the government, farmers are investing heavily on cotton crop but have not been earning good returns. The Union government had also signed an agreement at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting held in Nairobi to remove incentives on cotton exports.

Though Telangana is one of the top cotton growing states in the country, cotton farmers have been facing continuous losses in the last three years due to failed monsoons. The resistance of Pink bollworm towards the Boggard II technology is another major threat to the cotton farmers this year, experts revealed.