BERHAMPUR: Delay in procurement has emerged as a major cause of concern for cotton farmers of Ganjam. The sole mandi of the district at Digapahandi is yet to open even as two months have passed since harvest of the crop.
Owing to the absence of storage facilities, the farmers are desperately looking to sell their produce to traders who are cashing in on their misery. Sources said Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has already started buying cotton from farmers of Gajapati district.
CCI would come to Ganjam after all farmers of Gajapati sell their stock and it would take time, said Sudam Behera, a cotton grower. He said even as the farmers face the situation every year, little has been done by the district administration to assuage their woes.
Interestingly, Ganjam has won the ‘Krishi Karman’ award twice but this has brought little solace to the district’s farmers who have been alleging that the Government is oblivious to their plight.
Sources said CCI went to Gajapati first because the ginning mill, used to separate cotton fibre from seed bolls and dust particles, is situated at Kesinga which is comparatively nearer to the district than Ganjam.
The ginning mill at Aska has been closed for the last five years. The rate of cotton per quintal is Rs 5,550. A yield of 12,000 quintal cotton is expected this year in Ganjam.
According to district agriculture office sources, while cotton is grown over 5,614 hectare land in Sanakhemundi block, in Digapahandi it is grown on 788 hectare, Patrapur 645, Seragada 4,234, Soroda 546 and Dharakote hectare. The district contributes 25 per cent of total cotton production in Odisha.
