The farmers in Punjab are finding it difficult to register due to the non-availability of fresh girdwari (crop verification) reports or the lack of verification of the available reports. Hence, private players are making most of the purchases till now and that, too, below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The CCI has introduced the Aadhaar-based registration system to ensure transparency and ease MSP-based procurement for the 2025-26 season. Timeline of a crisis On August 21, the CCI wrote to all cotton Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) across Punjab, informing them about the new digital registration process. The very next day, on August 22, the Cotton Coordinator of Punjab Mandi Board, Bathinda, issued directions to all APMC centres in the state to inform farmers about the self-registration requirement. A reminder letter followed on September 16, asking market committees to start awareness drives for Aadhaar and land record-based self-registration on the Kapas Kisan app. According to CCI’s official communication, the pre-registration process opened on September 1 and was initially slated to close on September 30, but has now been extended to October 31, 2025, following feedback from the Punjab government and other states. The app, available on both Android and iOS platforms, requires farmers to upload valid land records and details of cotton sowing areas, certified by revenue or agriculture authorities. In its letter addressed to APMC centres in Abohar, Fazilka, Malout, Muktsar, Gidderbaha, Bathinda, Sangat, Rama Mandi, Tapa, Maur, Mansa, Sardulgarh, and Budhlada, the CCI stated that only registered farmers who book slots through the Kapas Kisan app will be eligible to sell cotton to CCI under the MSP scheme. To streamline operations, a slot booking facility has also been introduced to prevent long queues and allow farmers to choose their preferred sale date on a seven-day rolling basis. However, on the ground, the process has barely taken off. Sukhmandar Singh, president, Bharatiya Kisan Union Rajewal (Fazilka district), said, “Farmers are finding it extremely difficult to register on the Kapas Kisan app because fresh girdwari reports of area under cotton have to be uploaded. There are around 56 posts of patwaris lying vacant in our district, and hence, the verification work is almost at a standstill. So hardly anyone has been able to register, even though registration is mandatory for CCI purchases.” Sukhjinder Singh Rajan, an Abohar-based farmer, said, “The Punjab government must facilitate easy verification of land records. otherwise, farmers are being forced to sell produce to private players…” Therefore, cotton procurement by CCI is yet to begin in Punjab, leaving farmers at the mercy of private traders who are buying well below the MSP. The MSP of cotton this year ranges between Rs 7,545 and Rs 7,860 per quintal, depending on staple length, but market data reveal that private purchases are dominating at prices much below MSP, said Sukhmandar Singh. According to Punjab Mandi Board data, till October 5, Bathinda district recorded arrivals of 12,126 quintals, of which 12,091 quintals were purchased by private players, with 9,259 quintals sold below MSP. In Fazilka district, arrivals stood at 21,400 quintals, and here too, the majority was sold below the support price. Ravi Raj, former sarpanch of Kikarkhera village in Abohar constituency of Fazilka district, said, “I sold part of my produce at Rs 6,705 per quintal to private buyers, while the CCI’s minimum MSP is Rs 7,545 per quintal. I couldn’t register on the Kapas Kisan app in the absence of fresh girdwari reports and their verification.” Punjab’s major cotton-growing districts – Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, and Fazilka – are witnessing similar trends. Despite a modest revival this year, the state’s cotton acreage remains far below past levels. The area under cotton in 2025 rose to 1.19 lakh hectares (against the target of 1.29 lakh hectares) compared to 99,000 hectares in 2024. According to state agriculture department data, the long-term decline is stark – from 3.35 lakh hectares in 2019 to 2.5 lakh hectares in 2020-21, 2.48 lakh hectares in 2022 and 1.79 lakh hectares in 2023. Blame game About two weeks ago, Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian had sought immediate intervention from the Centre to start CCI’s procurement operations at MSP. Without mentioning the Kapas Kisan app, Khudian told reporters at Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh, that CCI’s absence from mandis had left farmers vulnerable to distress sales. “The crop is here, the farmers are here – but where is the CCI?” he asked. Defending the state’s record, Khudian pointed out that Punjab’s 33 per cent subsidy on hybrid cotton seeds and other measures under the crop diversification drive had resulted in a 20 per cent increase in area under cotton cultivation, from 99,000 hectares in 2024 to 1.19 lakh hectares this year. Meanwhile, CCI officials in Bathinda insisted that the ball is now in the Punjab government’s court. “Our teams are in the field, ready to buy the produce within 12 per cent moisture levels. But this year, farmers all over India must register through the Kapas Kisan app, and the girdwari reports are to be verified by Punjab government officials. The delay is from their end,” said a senior CCI official from Bathinda on the condition of anonymity. “Now, based on Punjab and other states’ feedback, the registration window has been extended till October 31 across the country. In other states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, etc, registration is underway, but from Punjab, we are yet to receive proper updates. We are ready to buy the produce as soon as farmers complete their registration,” he added. “With the new app linking every purchase to verified land and crop data, CCI’s digitisation drive aims to curb fraudulent MSP claims, but in Punjab, the move has inadvertently left thousands of cotton farmers in limbo – caught between an unready state machinery and the Centre’s new digital compliance system. perhaps this is a new method to not buy our produce on MSP and the Punjab government is least bothered to help us out,” said Rajan.
