Disillusionment with cotton: Production drops in Punjab, a setback to diversification
By yash chouhan 2025-07-21 16:28:40
Punjab farmers disillusioned with cotton farming: Big drop in production, setback to crop diversification efforts
Malwa region is known for cotton production, but now the farmers here are turning to paddy and wheat crops. Uncertainty over Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the outbreak of pink bollworm and white fly are considered to be the main reasons for farmers leaving cotton farming.
Punjab farmers are getting disillusioned with cotton farming. As a result of this, a decline of 63.48 percent has been recorded in cotton production in the state this year. The government's crop diversification efforts have suffered a setback due to a major decrease in cotton production within a year.
Punjab farmers disillusioned with cotton farming: Big drop in production, setback to crop diversification efforts
Punjab farmers are getting disillusioned with cotton farming. As a result of this, a decline of 63.48 percent has been recorded in cotton production in the state this year. The government's crop diversification efforts have suffered a setback due to a major decline in cotton production within a year.
Uncertainty over Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the outbreak of pink bollworm and white fly are believed to be the main reasons for farmers abandoning cotton cultivation. The latest report of the Cotton Association of India has revealed a decrease in cotton production.
Malwa region is known for cotton production, but now the farmers here are turning to paddy and wheat crops. The groundwater level of the state is already falling. 118 blocks have gone into the red zone and this report has now increased the concern of the government even more. According to the report, cotton production has come down from 6.09 lakh bales in 2023-24 to 2.52 lakh bales in 2024-25. Similarly, the area has also come down from 2.14 lakh to 1 lakh hectare.
Situation slightly better in Haryana and Rajasthan
Cotton production in Haryana and Rajasthan has also fallen as compared to last year, but still the situation is slightly better there. In 2024-25, Haryana cultivated cotton in 5.78 lakh hectares and produced 11.96 lakh bales, while Rajasthan cultivated it in 6.27 lakh hectares and produced 17.79 lakh bales.
Decline in purchase of cotton at MSP also
A decline has been recorded in the purchase of cotton at MSP in Punjab. According to a report of Cotton Corporation of India in March, only 2 thousand bales were purchased at MSP in Punjab in the year 2024-25, whereas in the year 2019-20 this figure was 3.56 lakh bales. Similarly, in 2020-21, MSP purchase of 5.36 lakh bales was done. The market price of cotton was above MSP during 2021-22 and 2022-23, so there was no purchase at MSP during these two years. In the year 2023-24, only 38 thousand bales were purchased at MSP.
