Two unsuccessful seasons in 2021 and 2022 have put cotton growers in jeopardy. Bad weather has also played its part, with cotton being sown on only 8% or about 20,000 hectares in South Malwa.
As Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) advises, cotton sowing should be completed between April 15 and May 15 and with only 12 days left, farmers are racing against time to complete the sowing operations of the major kharif crop. Are.
Agriculture experts and farmers said that after two consecutive crop failures, cotton growers are in a dilemma whether to invest in traditional cash crop cultivation or look for an alternative.
Cotton-growing districts have recorded sowing in 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) against a target of 3 lakh hectares for the 2023-24 kharif cycle, data collated by the state agriculture department on Wednesday said. Cotton was cultivated in about 2.47 lakh hectares in 2022-23.
Considered to be the economic lifeline of the semi-arid districts of South Malwa region, the Punjab government also introduced a subsidy of 33 per cent on PAU approved seeds for the first time. Experts said that the main reason for crop failure in 2021 and 2022 season is due to use of rejected seeds by farmers and pest infestation.
Dilbag Singh, Bathinda's chief agriculture officer, said the move was aimed at farmers buying only approved varieties.
Statistics show that sowing has not picked up pace. Officials have cited poor weather conditions and delay in harvesting of wheat this year as the main reasons for delay in sowing of cotton crop.
Fazilka has achieved maximum acreage with 8,000 hectares against this year's target of one lakh hectares.
Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Jangir Singh expressed hope that sowing would pick up pace next week.
“After the delay in harvesting wheat, farmers were busy clearing the fields for the next crop. With widespread rains in the region and forecast of rain for next 3-4 days, cotton growers are waiting for the weather to clear up to start sowing.
In Bathinda, farmers have sown cotton on only 4,000 hectares, against the target of 80,000 hectares this year. In the last Kharif season, cotton was cultivated in about 70,000 hectares in the district.
Sharanjit Singh, a resident of Maan Kheda village in Mansa, said farmers are in distress after two crops failed due to pest attacks in 2021 and 2022.
“For the last several years, I was sowing cotton in 18 acres. But after suffering huge losses in the last two years, this time cotton has been sown in only 10 acres. I am planning to sow cereals like bajra or jowar on the rest of the land.
Muktsar CAO Gurpreet Singh said the department expects the area under cotton to increase from 33,000 hectares to 50,000 hectares.
“Farmers also suffered due to less availability of canal water in the last season. But this year, irrigation support is excellent and farmers will be encouraged to grow cotton again. Slow progress in sowing is due to unseasonal rains, but it will pick up soon.
Low response to seed subsidy
The department's data shows that so far only 12,000 farmers have registered themselves to claim the 33% subsidy on seeds. The maximum 5,700 farmers are from Fazilka, followed by Bathinda (2,500), Mansa (2,400) and Muktsar (1,500). For the 2023 Kharif season, the central government has fixed the maximum retail price of Bt 2 cotton seeds at ₹853 per packet.
Mansa's CAO Satpal Singh said that as per the state government's policy, each applicant can claim a subsidy of two packets per acre with an upper limit of 10 packets for 5 acres.
"A farmer will have to register on a web portal with the original bill and bank account details by May 15. Financial assistance will be credited to his account after physical verification of the fields," he added.
Fazilka's Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Jangid Singh said, "Farmers are waiting for clear weather and this is also the reason for the slow registration to claim subsidy on seeds."
GS Romana, PAU's principal agriculture economist, said farmers lack confidence after two bad seasons, but there is no option for them in this semi-arid region.
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