Drought: Bt cotton farmers hit hard in Balangir, Subarnapur WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2011 23:53 SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR HITS: 10 User Rating: /

Drought: Bt cotton farmers hit hard in Balangir, Subarnapur
WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2011 23:53 SUDHIR MISHRA | BALANGIR HITS: 10
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After the Kharif paddy and groundnut crops were badly damaged this year in the district due to irregular and scanty rainfall, cash crop cotton, which is dubbed as white gold, has also been affected, thanks to the scanty, irregular and untimely rainfall and absence of irrigation facility in Balangir and Subarnapur districts.

Farmers who had grown Bt cotton clandestinely have suffered a lot. Few farmers narrated their woes before the farmer’s commission which visited Balangir on November 21.

“I have been cultivating cotton since 1990.I own 15 acres of land and have taken lease of another five acres, where I have cultivated BT cotton this year,” said Khageshwar Sahu of BankiBahal village. He added that he used to get 180-200 quintals of cotton every year.

However, this year first of all we have been hit hard due to irregular rainfall. By the end of September and October, there was no rain, which affected as many as 70 per cent of crop. This has led to a loss of `16,000 per acre. Even though the MSP of cotton has been fixed at `3,300, it is being sold at `3,800. We are facing trouble in getting Bt cotton seeds. Hence, the Government should make arrangement for supply of the seed as we are purchasing it at high price, Sahu said.

“I have taken up BT cotton cultivation in 100 acres, said Jatin Panigrahi of Anandpur in Sonepur district. There was acute shortage of fertiliser in the beginning in Birmaharajpur block. I purchased fertiliser through a dalal (middleman) at a higher price of more than 40 per cent of MSP to save crop. The insurance premium for cotton is quite high. Production would be around 7 quintals per acre and there is no market facility for the BT cotton I have cultivated. The MSP is too low and it should be increased. The insecticide supplied to us is almost the same at market rate which hardly makes any difference,” added Panigrahi.

The Bt cotton is a risky investment in the absence of assured irrigation. Cultivation of the crop also requires heavy use of fertiliser, insecticides, besides the high cost of its seed. Rather than going for the banned BT cotton, we are advising the farmers to go for approved variety cotton seeds and adopt the integrated pest management to get more production, explained an official in the agriculture department.

In our eco system, besides the harmful insects, there are also beneficial insects. Spraying of pesticides and insecticides kills the eco-friendly insects first and then the harmful ones, he informed.

The seed dealers and seller have induced a wrong conception that BT cotton is free from pest attack though it is susceptible to sucking pests like Jassids, Aphids, Mealy bug, among others, he explained further.

This year cotton cultivation has been taken up in 35,300 hectares in Balangir and due to unseasonal and erratic rain cotton production has been affected to a great extent, said SMS (cotton) K Murmu.

“We have all along advised the farmers not to go for BT cotton in view of rain fed condition of the district,” Murmu added.