Farmers, stay strong - BRS stands with you, says KTR

BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) toured several areas in Adilabad district to understand the problems being faced by cotton and soyabean farmers. Accompanied by senior party leaders, he visited the Adilabad market yard and interacted directly with the farming community.

Farmers told KTR that the government was not paying attention to their difficulties and that even after harvesting their crops, they were unable to sell them. They complained that cotton and soyabean were being rejected on the grounds of high moisture levels, and that they were not receiving the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Speaking to the media, KTR questioned why, if farmers were supposedly not facing any issues, the market yard had been shut down. He also criticised the government for creating hurdles during his visit. The situation of cotton and soyabean farmers in Telangana had become worse than ever before, he remarked.

KTR explained that due to unseasonal rains and severe cold conditions, moisture levels in cotton naturally increased, and this was widely known. He recalled that during the previous BRS government, pressure was put on the Centre to purchase cotton with up to 20–22% moisture content. “But today, the government is refusing to buy even cotton with 12% moisture,” he said.

He expressed concern that farmers, unable to sell their crops, were being pushed to desperation, yet the government remained unresponsive. “Not even one lakh quintals of cotton have been purchased so far,” KTR stated.

KTR criticised the government’s insistence on purchasing through the Kisan Kapas mobile app, pointing out that many farmers do not have smartphones and that internet connectivity in Adilabad is unreliable. This, he said, made the new system even more burdensome for farmers.

He also objected to the requirement of mandatory fingerprint verification for selling soyabean, noting that crops registered in the names of elderly parents could not be sold by their children, causing unnecessary hardship.

Terming the rule that only 7 quintals of cotton per acre would be purchased as “illogical,” KTR said that with Adilabad’s soil quality, farmers typically produce 10-15 quintals per acre. “What are farmers supposed to do with the rest of their produce?” he asked.

KTR accused the government of failing farmers at every stage - from electricity supply to availability of urea to crop procurement. Despite Telangana being one of the top cotton-producing states in India, the Centre was importing cotton and reducing import duties, which he said was a serious blow to local farmers.

He also criticised the state cabinet for not discussing cotton procurement even once in its recent meeting. The BRS, he said, had submitted representations to CCI officials to speed up purchases.

KTR concluded by stating that the BRS would continue its fight until the issues of farmers across the 50-lakh acres of cotton cultivation in Telangana are fully resolved.