The Cotton Development and Research Association (CDRA) has launched kapas plucking machines for farmers. The association had been making attempts to manufacture cotton picking machines to suit Indian cotton crop conditions and bring down the cost for farmers since there is a shortage of labor for cotton picking.

It developed the battery-powered, portable, handheld kapas plucking machine in association with Coimbatore-based Point Industries. The machine is provided with a cotton collection bag. With manual picking, a farm worker will be able to pick 13 kg to 15 kg of kapas a day and the farmer pays Rs 230 to Rs 250 as wages. This works out to over 35 per cent of the kapas’ cost. With the machine, the cost can be reduced to less than seven per cent of the kapas’ price.

The association would appoint distributors for sale of the machine to farmers. The response to the machine so far has been encouraging. The association has appealed to the state government to reduce the value added tax on the machine to five per cent from the current 14.5 per cent. It had conducted several field trials before launching it for sale.