KOTKAPURA: The “white gold” has ditched them. The state government agencies are indifferent. The cotton growers in the cotton belt of Punjab are a frustrated lot.
Around this time in the year, Kotkapura, the biggest cotton market in Asia, would not have a patch of ground uncovered. It used to be all white. “We could not trace easily where we had parked the scooters with heaps of cotton all around,” said one of the market committee officials. Not so this year.
The virtually empty market yard states in the face. The American bollworm has done extensive damage to the cotton crop, The government did not undertake any damage control exercise, This year, this cotton market registered arrival of 3,61,856 quintals of cotton till December 10, as compared to 5,56,102 quintals over comparable period last year. The procurement agency officials and the traders put the production loss at 35% as compared to last year.
Last year, the farmers were angry over low cotton prices and boycotted the mandis throughout the state for a week. This time, the low production has pushed up the prices but it is not enough to compensate the farmers for the losses.
The auction is over within four hours, such is the pathetic situation of arrivals. During the peak Season, otherwise, the auction would continue throughout the day. Only a few farmers can be seen bringing their produce to the market.
The insecticides failed to have the desired effect in controlling the insect. This phenomenon had earlier occurred in 1988. According to officials of the procurement agencies, a fortnight of cloudy weather in September made the insecticides ineffective.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 17, 1993
