Reasons behind declining cotton cultivation in Maharashtra
By yash chouhan 2025-11-17 11:50:07
Cotton cultivation in Maharashtra is rapidly declining, and farmers are refraining from farming due to these reasons.
A cotton expert stated that cotton cultivation in Maharashtra has declined by approximately 4.59 lakh hectares over the past four years, as farmers are turning to soybean cultivation due to high labor costs and lack of mechanization.A shocking statistic has emerged from Maharashtra, a leading cotton producing state. In fact, a cotton expert stated that cotton cultivation in Maharashtra has declined by approximately 4.59 lakh hectares over the past four years, as farmers are turning to soybean cultivation due to high labor costs and lack of mechanization. In 2020-21, cotton was cultivated across 45.45 lakh hectares in Maharashtra, producing 101.05 lakh bales (each bale weighing 170 kg). Meanwhile, according to data from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Nanded-based Cotton Research Center, this area will decrease to 40.86 lakh hectares by 2024-25, and the estimated production is 87.63 lakh bales.
What is the reason for the decline in cotton cultivation? Agricultural scientist Dr. Arvind Pandagale of the Cotton Research Center explained that cotton cultivation is being largely replaced by soybeans. Cotton has to be harvested manually. The labor required for harvesting is 10 rupees per kilogram, but the selling price does not exceed 70 rupees per kilogram. Furthermore, the crop requires spraying of pesticides, which is a significant and expensive task. The cost of growing cotton is increasing, he said, which is why the area under cotton cultivation in Maharashtra is decreasing.
Lack of machinery is also a reason for the decline in cultivation. Pandagale explained that another problem is the difficulty in harvesting cotton. To address the labor shortage, the use of machines for cotton picking should be increased. However, the machines available in India collect leaves and other weeds along with the cotton. Many industries across the country are working to develop more efficient cotton picking machines. He explained that in other countries, cotton is harvested using machines, and their plants do not grow taller than 3.5 to 4 feet.
He further stated that in India, plants can grow up to 7 feet tall. "We are trying to reduce the height of cotton plants through research." Farmers in India use "straight variety" cotton seeds. In countries like Brazil and Australia, they use hybrid seeds. Straight variety cotton can be picked 2-3 times, which is not possible with hybrid seeds.
Farmers leaving farming due to high wages Aba Kolhe, a cotton farmer from Ghosla village in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, also pointed to high wages and other problems. He said that due to heavy rains during harvesting this year, the weight of the cotton bolls has decreased. As a result, laborers are unwilling to pick them even if offered 20 rupees per kilo. Except for 2021-22, we haven't received a good price for our crop. Therefore, we have reduced the area under cultivation compared to 2019.
Exports likely to decline to 1.8 million bales The farmer said that until 2019, he used to grow cotton on his entire 11 acres of land. He further said that now he grows cotton on only half of that land. According to official data, cotton imports into the country are expected to outpace exports this year. In 2021-22, India imported 2.113 million bales of cotton and exported 4.225 million bales. According to data provided by the Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption (COCPC) under the Ministry of Textiles, the estimated imports for 2024-25 are 25 lakh bales, while exports are likely to decline to 18 lakh bales.
