Cotton farmers advised not to fall prey to middlemen

Additional Collector GV  Shyam Prasad Lal has advised cotton farmers not to fall prey to middlemen. He advised the farmers to sell their produce at procurement centres established by Cotton corporation of India (CCI).  
At a review meeting on cotton procurement with officials at the Integrated District Collectorate on Wednesday, he emphasised the need to purchase cotton at the minimum support price. If market price fell below the government-announced support price for quality cotton, immediate support must be provided through the CCI centres.
He noted that the minimum support price for cotton with 8 per cent moisture content is set at Rs 7,521. Farmers are urged not to sell their cotton to middlemen or traders for lower price. Instead, they should sell their produce only at the four designated procurement centres in the district if the price offered is below the minimum support price.
He mentioned that the cotton procurement centres would begin operations on October 16 at four ginning mills. Two of them in the Peddapalli market yard, one in the Sultanabad market yard, and one in the Kamanpur market yard. Farmers are advised to take into consideration the quality standards when bringing their cotton to the centers.
Farmers must link their bank accounts with their Aadhaar cards when bringing cotton to the procurement centres, and the Agriculture Department officials were instructed to create necessary awareness among the farmers.
Additional Collector Shyam Prasad Lal also directed that the procurement centres be equipped with necessary moisture testing and weighing machines.
District Marketing Officer Praveen Reddy, Dsitrict Agriculture Officer Adi Reddy, District Road Transport Officer Rang Rao, District Weights and Measures Department officer Visweshwar and others were present.