Bhubaneswar: Procurement of cotton under the operation of the minimum support price (MSP) has increased in Odisha.
In 2018-19, only six percent of the cotton was purchased under MSP operations, but 41 percent at 2020-21.
The Union Minister for Textiles Darshana Jardosh told Rajya Sabha about this on Friday.
MSP cotton operation is a sovereign function of the center to protect cotton farmers from any possibility of depressed sales.
To ensure the benefits of MSP to the large part of the cotton farmer, Cotton Corporation of India Ltd.
(CCI) is appointed as a nodal institution under the Ministry of Textile to carry out MSP cotton operations directly from state farmers identified by the state government.
Officials without involving intermediaries.
Cotton is being purchased between October and June.
The country produces four lakh cotton bal (one bale is 170kg cotton) in 2018-19, but only 0.25 lakh cotton racing purchased under the MSP operation that year by spending Rs 70.78 Crore.
It was six percent of total production.
In 2019-20, around 1.61 lakh bal bought under MSP operations against the production of four Bal Cotton Lakh.
The percentage of procurement is 40 percent with a value of Rs 435.4 Crore.
In 2020-2021, 2.05 lakh bal (41 percent) from RS 621.8 Crore was purchased with a production of 4.99 lakh bal, the official source said.
Only 5000 farmers received MSP in 2018-19, but this number has been increased to 40,000 in 2020-21, the Minister said.
He said CCI officials remained in procurement centers since the beginning of the cotton season until the end to ensure the minimum support price to cotton farmers wherever the price of the average quality (FAQ) in MSP.
Government resources say cotton cultivated in the district of Ladiesome, Balalangir, Rayaganada, Nuabada, Sonepur, Bargarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Coraput, Boudh and Kandhamal.
It was cultivated in the 1.69 lakh hectare area in 2019-20 in 11 districts.
Has been upgraded to 1.71 lakh hectares in the financial year 2020-21.
CCI has a branch office in Rayaganada along with 14 procurement centers in nine districts.
In February this year, racing from Odisha was exported to Bangladesh via the train for the first time.
A total of 2471.5 MT (metric tons) of racing purchased by CCI from Odisha farmers transported from Junagarh Station in the Seatial District to Benapole Station in Bangladesh.