Case of Swapna in Kurnool City


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Case of Swapna in Kurnool City

A cotton farmer in Kurnool:  Swapna, a small farmer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) grows cotton on her small piece of land. The bolls of the cotton plant are ripe and some have already burst, so Swapna is busy picking cotton.

·   Once the cotton is collected, instead of selling it at Kurnool cotton market, Swapna and her husband take the harvest to the local trader. At the beginning of the cropping season, Swapna had borrowed Rs 2,500 from the trader at a very high interest rate to buy seeds, fertilizers’, pesticides for cultivation.

·   Cultivation of cotton requires high levels of inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides and the farmers have to incur heavy expenses on account of these. Most often, the small farmers need to borrow money to meet these expenses.

·   At the trader’s yard, two of his men weigh the bags of cotton. At a price of Rs 1,500 per quintal, the cotton fetches Rs 6,000. The trader deducts Rs 3,000 for repayment of loan and interest and pays Swapna Rs 3,000.

·   Though Swapna knows that cotton will sell for at least Rs 1,800 per quintal, she doesn’t argue further. The trader is a powerful man in the village and the farmers have to depend on him for loans not only for cultivation, but also to meet other exigencies such as illnesses, children’s school fees.

 
 
 


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