Regarding procurement plans at the district level, the minister directed officials to ensure CCTV cameras at every centre.(File/Representational) Cotton procurement for 2021-22 kharif season should commence from the first week of November, Minister for Cooperation and Marketing Balasaheb Patil said on Wednesday.
At a meeting here, Patil took the stock of cotton cultivation in Maharashtra. He directed the department to start early cotton procurement from November first week to facilitate timely sale and income for farmers.
The directives come in the wake of a delay in the last kharif season due to Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, for which procurement centres did not open on time.
“Cotton sowing in the current kharif season was done on 39.37 lack hectares. Last year, it was sown on 42.08 lakh hectares. The area under cotton sowing has declined by 6.44 per cent,” Patil said.
Regarding procurement plans at the district level, the minister directed officials to ensure CCTV cameras at every centre.
In talukas where cotton sowing and production is higher, the procurement process could start early, he added.
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