Middlemen shortchange farmers by buying below MSP
Pillalamarri Srinivas
14 February 2025
ADILABAD: The vigilance department of Agricultural Marketing, Telangana, has uncovered irregularities in cotton purchases for Kharif 2024-25 at the Adilabad and Chennur market yards. Officials found that while the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) bought cotton at the MSP of Rs 7,521 per quintal, middlemen were reportedly buying it from farmers for less than Rs 6,000 per quintal.
Investigations revealed that market committee secretaries and middlemen exploited tenant farmers — many of whom lacked proper certification for their harvests — by inflating purchase figures. In one instance, nearly 720 quintals of cotton were recorded under bogus farmer names at the Adilabad market yard.
Discrepancies were also noted between the temporary registrations provided by the Agriculture Department and those maintained by market officials; 3,457 such registrations were recorded at Adilabad.
In response, Telangana Agricultural Marketing Board director G. Lakshmi Bai has suspended two market committee secretaries — Kamble Madhukar of Adilabad and Ramanjaneyulu of Chennur. In total, eight market secretaries have been suspended on charges of graft and collusion with middlemen.
Adilabad marketing AD Y. Gajanand said that the cotton crop was cultivated on 4.33 lakh acres, with an expected yield of 32 lakh quintals at 12 quintals per acre for the upcoming season. CCI’s purchases from the district include 25.58 lakh quintals from official centres in Adilabad, Indravelli, Jainad, Ichoda, Boath, and Narnoor markets, with allegations that some middlemen also sourced cotton at lower prices from farmers in bordering Maharashtra.
CCI procedures require farmers to provide proof of a Pattadar pass or certification from the agriculture extension officer or revenue inspector before purchases are made through online temporary registration.
(Source: https://www.deccanchronicle.com)