Area under cotton up by 52,000 hectares

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 14

Farmers in the state have gone in for cotton cultivation on a much bigger scale this year. The area under cultivation of the “white gold” has gone up by 52,000 hectares this year.

Data available from the Agriculture Department shows that against 2.51 lakh hectare area under cotton last year, the crop had been sown on 3.03 lakh hectares. An assured market at the minimum support price MSP announced by the government has led to the new confidence among farmers in the cotton crop.

“Last year, almost 80 per cent of the cotton crop was procured by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) at the MSP of Rs 5,825 a quintal. The remaining was bought by private traders at rates varying between Rs 5,900- Rs 6,000 a quintal,” Rajnish Jain, a leading commission agent for cotton in Maur, said.

Study finds Bt cotton beneficial

A study on the impact of Bt cotton has been published by PAU, SKUAST and Amity University scientists. It has found that:

• Bt cotton has resulted in economic & environmental benefits
• There’s reduction in the use of highly hazardous insecticides
• Yield has been stable for 13 years, 2015 being the only exception

The Centre yesterday increased the MSP by Rs 200 (Rs 6,025 a quintal for long staple variety). “Price is the biggest deciding factor for farmers, and the last two seasons saw farmers getting good returns, leading to more area under cotton crop,” Director, Agriculture, Sukhdev Singh Brar said, adding that this has helped in reducing the area under water-guzzling paddy.

Harsimran Singh, a young cotton grower from Mansa: “The farm laws have also forced many farmers to have a rethink on growing paddy, as fear looms large that MSP on wheat and paddy would stop. Also, private buying of cotton is much more than the private buying of non-basmati padd at a higher rate than the MSP,” he said, explaining why farmers in Malwa belt have gone in for cotton cultivation.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.