The Hindu Business Line : Will Bt seeds yield better prices?

WHETHER Bollgard will succeed or not is not what is occupying the minds of most cotton growers here. For them, the real question is: will we able to get a remunerative price for our kapas (seed cotton) this year?

The basis for this concern is the acute dearth of funds with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Marketing Federation, which buys cotton from farmers under the State Government's monopoly procurement scheme.

``Last year, the Government declared a price of Rs 2,050 per quintal. But, so far, I have received only Rs 1,300 per quintal. If the Federation owes me Rs 750 per quintal from last year's crop, how will it be in a position to buy this year's crop (harvested from November)?'' quipped Rao Saheb Sarjerao Jadhav, a seven-acre grower in village Bilda.

Sheikh Fakir Ibrahim, another farmer in the neighbouring Varkhedi village, felt that if the Federation does not undertake purchases, prices might even crash to Rs 1,000 per quintal. ``The traders are much better organised than us and we will be left with no option but to sell to them'', he complained.

A cotton farmer typically confronts three types of risks: weather, marketing and pest attacks. ``Bollgard can manage only the third risk, not the first two'', admitted Mr Raju Barwale, Managing Director of Mahyco. He, however, expected open market price realisations to improve in the current season. ``First of all, international prices have firmed up (largely due to China's poor crop) and we are unlikely to see large-scale imports this year. Secondly, domestic cotton acreages are likely to be 10-15 per cent lower than last year, especially in the North'', he added.

A farmer harvesting, say eight quintals per acre of kapas, usually incurs input costs of around Rs 10,000 per acre, with the main components being pesticides (Rs 3,000, assuming 10 sprays), fertilisers (Rs 1,500-2,000), harvesting (Rs 800-1,200, at the rate of Rs 1-1.50 for each kg picked), apart from irrigation and other labour charges. The component prone to maximum fluctuation is pesticides, where the costs can go up to even Rs 5,000 per acre. ``Farmers would benefit if at least this component can be controlled'', Mr Barwale observed.

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