Cotton farmers will take out a rally in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra on May 18 to demand a subsidy of Rs 5,000 per quintal and financial assistance for the crop growers who suffered losses due to "excessive" rains, a farm activist said on Monday.

In a press release, farm activist Kishore Tiwari said that cotton has been cultivated in record 10.2 million hectares this year as the price of the key textile component had touched Rs 14,000 a quintal last year.