The use of technologies, such as drip irrigation, has guaranteed producers the good old productivity of cotton grown in dryland, without exclusive dependence on climatic conditions. The irrigation work to save crops is an action of the State Government, within the Minas Gerais Cotton Culture Incentive Program (Proalminas) and developed in partnership with the Minas Gerais Association of Cotton Producers (Amipa).
Processing and Marketing
Cotton from small producers is sold directly to the textile industry. “A thing impossible to think of 30 years ago, when the producer sold to the middleman or even to a mill owner who benefited the production”, says the cooperative's agricultural technician, José Tibúrcio de Carvalho Filho.
Currently, cotton is processed in a mini-mill installed in the municipality of Mato Verde, which also participates in the cotton recovery project in the North of Minas. The processing capacity is 1.5 thousand tons per year and receives cotton from all producers in the region, regardless of volume. From each 200 kilo bale pressed and processed, a sample is taken to measure quality. “This sample is sent to Amipa's Minas Cotton laboratory, in Uberlândia, where the HVI (High Volume Instrument) Report is prepared, which identifies the intrinsic characteristics of the cotton fiber. The result of this report is required for commercialization with the textile industries”, explains Amipa's agronomist engineer, José Lusimar Eugênio.
The negotiated price follows the market quotation and, through Proalminas, the producer has an increase of 7.85% in value. Textile industries that participate in the program are guaranteed an exemption of 41.66% from the presumed ICMS credit when purchasing certified cotton from producers in Minas Gerais. With the tax benefit, the industry allocates 1.5% of resources to the Cotoniculture Development Fund (Algominas), whose investments allow the hope of all family farmers in the North of Minas to be reborn, who have already witnessed the boom, the decline and are now betting in the resumption of cotton cultivation as a source of income and employment in the region located on the limits of Serra Geral.
Source: Notícias Agrícolas | Author: SEAPA
