Cotton cultivation taking centrestage in North

Rutam Vora

Vishwanath Kulkarni

Cotton cultivation is taking the centrestage in North India. On the back again of last year’s larger selling prices and purchases by the Cotton Company of India (CCI), farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are seen relocating away from paddy and guar seed to the fibre crop this calendar year.

Farmers in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan have taken to cotton cultivation mainly on two grounds – larger money more than comparatively fewer remunerative crops these types of as paddy and guar seed, and the labour lack for paddy transplantation.

Labour lack

For paddy growers, labour lack is a important challenge in the sowing year. Farmer leader Ajay Vir Jakhar says farmers are following their working experience with cotton last calendar year.

“Last calendar year, cotton selling prices had been great, yields had been great, so they wager huge on cotton this calendar year way too. Cotton does not call for migrant labour even for the duration of harvest,” Jakhar explained to Businessline.

Migrant labourers are desired mainly for transplantation of paddy, even though cotton finding is normally finished by labourers from Rajasthan.

Paddy growers, on the other hand, are trying to find to progress the transplantation day by about 10 days, which is thought to ease the strain on farmers. This would suggest extending the transplantation time by about twenty five for each cent. So, the strain on need of labour for paddy would minimize considerably.

Indicating a increase in cotton acreage across the region, Sushil Phutela, Vice-President of Indian Cotton Association Ltd informed that world aspects these types of as China operating out of cotton shares, US and Australia probably to witness lower crop, may well support cotton selling prices heading ahead. “We are viewing beneficial outlook for cotton irrespective of the small expression effect following this trade disruptions due to coronavirus. Demand is heading to be there and we think even at MSP premiums, cotton is nevertheless a far better wager for farmers more than paddy,” claimed Phutela adding that preliminary indication position at about 10-fifteen for each cent of the paddy place may well swap toward cotton in the locations of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Cotton was planted in 4 lakh hectares in Punjab, 7 lakh ha in Haryana and 6.forty four lakh ha in Rajasthan for the duration of the 2019-twenty year. Full North Indian acreage stood at 17.forty five lakh ha even though the all India cotton place was 127.sixty seven lakh ha for the duration of 2019-twenty.

The increase in cotton acreage is also reflected in the cotton seed revenue. “The desire for cotton seeds has been great so considerably. About 60-sixty five for each cent of the seed sale has taken location and we be expecting it to may well go up to Could fifteen,” claimed M Ramasami, Chairman of Rasi Seeds Pvt Ltd, the biggest vendor of Bt cotton seeds in the nation.

Primarily based on the traits, the cotton acreage could go up by about a tenth in North India, mainly in Punjab and Haryana, Ramasamy extra. The Attur, Salem-based Rasi Seeds dominates the North Indian cottonseed current market with a share of more than fifty for each cent. The North Indian cottonseed current market is estimated at ninety lakh packets a calendar year, even though the full Indian current market is about 4.five crore packets. To get over the challenges posed by the countrywide lockdown, the organization utilised 4 railway rakes and 20 vehicles to transport the cottonseeds from Salem to North India this calendar year.