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Q : Why are farmers of Vidarbha
suffering losses in Cotton cultivation?
A : The main point is how much does a farmer
get. One-meter cloth requires 80 gms yarn or 250-300 gms. of cotton. The farmer
will get a maximum sum of six to seven rupees. The share of farmer in one-meter
cloth is Rs.7.When this cloth comes out as a finished product its price is
Rs.250-300/mtr. If it is a designer cloth then the price can be Rs.1000/mtr.
Hence, the poor farmer only gets the minimal price for his cotton produce. This
is the main issue.
The yield of cotton from rain-fed areas
and assured irrigated area is different. Either the cotton produce should fetch
more price or the cost incurred on growing cotton should be reduced. The total
irrigated land in Maharashtra is 15%. In Vidarbha and entire Maharashtra, 97%
cotton is grown in rain-fed areas, whereas cotton is cultivated in only three
percent of the irrigated land.
Q : Why are cotton farmers committing
suicide?
A : The main reason is that the cotton farmer
is not able to recover his input costs due to the vagaries of weather,
especially when there are no rains during the monsoons. The input cost includes
the expenses on seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. But the cost of his own
labour never gets repaid. So, the poor farmer continues to work like a bonded
labour on his own field. This problem is of a different nature and not related
to cotton farming.
No soil is better than the black cotton
soil found in Vidarbha. The issue here is to seek an alternative technology that
requires least amount of water to irrigate the cotton crop such that the farmers
have a decent earning. The essential prerequisite for acquiring a decent earning
is that the cost of growing the crop should not exceed its sale price. If this
does not happen, the farmer is bound to carry the burden of a heavy debt.
Previously, the farmers were not
committing suicide because the input cost was much less than that of today and
they earned a decent sum. But, the tragedy today is that the cost of each and
every input has increased manifold, whereas the sale price has hardly increased.
To cite an example, the cost of one
tola or ten grams of gold was 2200 rupees in 1970s and the minimum support
price (m.s.p) of one-quintal cotton was 2700 rupees. Today, one tola gold
costs 9000 rupees, whereas the m.s.p. of one quintal cotton has dipped down to a
mere 2100 rupees. Though the scientists are harping on the need for appropriate
seeds, fertilizers and insecticides to get the desired yield, they do not
emphasize the importance of irrigation, as this vital cost is not factored into
the rest of the cultivation inputs.
If irrigation facility is not available
then this high expenditure will not give the farmer any profit. The major
mistake here is the fact that the technology provided to cotton farmers was not
suitable to rain-fed farming.
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