"The Crisis in Cotton: Unraveling the Challenges of Cotton Farming"
Cotton Farming Management Techniques: There are indications that this year the monsoon will be earlier than scheduled and heavy. Therefore, the eagerness of farmers to sow the Kharif crop has also increased. Since cotton farming is a loss-making crop, the area under cultivation is expected to decline this year across the country. According to estimates, even if the area in the state is reduced by 15 per cent, cotton will be cultivated in about 40 lakh hectares. Though cotton farming is already proving to be a lucrative business, the growers will also have to bear the brunt of the increase in seed prices this year.
Farmers will have to pay Rs 901 for a packet of BG-2 seeds, which cost Rs 864 last year. Of course, there is an increase of Rs 37 per packet! Though the increase per packet seems less, but one to one and a quarter crore seed packets are sold in the state. Therefore, cotton growers in the state will have to bear an additional burden of Rs 37 to 46 crore for seeds alone.
The looting of growers by unauthorized HTBT seeds is different! In the last decade, BT cotton has been increasingly affected by pink bollworm, sap sucking pests and red spot. Therefore, productivity is declining. Interestingly, the companies have not done much research on new varieties. Moreover, while the companies only cost them Rs. 500 to Rs. 550 per kg to produce BT seed, they sell it at Rs. 2,000 per kg. Both these circumstances cannot justify the increase in prices of BT seeds.
Another important issue in cotton cultivation is that before the advent of BT, varieties were selected according to the type of soil. There was a widespread practice of planting saplings at a fixed distance. Now any variety can be grown in any soil. The Pawali method of cultivation is being adopted everywhere, in which the distance between two rows and two trees is not fixed. Companies have popularised this practice to ensure more Bt seeds are used.
There is a lot of confusion among cotton growers regarding nutrient management, and most farmers do not apply the recommended amount of fertiliser to cotton. There is no concrete guidance from agricultural universities or the Central Cotton Research Institute regarding Bt cotton management. Therefore, there is a lot of confusion among growers regarding cotton cultivation and management. To put an end to all this chaos in Bt cotton cultivation, the Union Agriculture Ministry issued a directive on January 15, 2025, stating that seed producing companies should also provide a leaflet with comprehensive information about seeds and management along with the packet.
Taking the matter seriously, the companies were asked to provide information leaflets along with the seeds from this season. But instead of doing so, the companies objected, saying that a similar decision should be taken not only for cotton but also for seeds of other crops. They wanted to kill time and they achieved it. Three months passed. The central government issued revised orders regarding brochures for all crops on April 11. By then, seeds of cotton and other crops for the Kharif season had already been distributed.
So, companies relied on QR codes instead of brochures. Many farmers do not have Android phones. Still, how many of them manage their crops by scanning QR codes? This can be a subject of research. So, farmers should get comprehensive brochures along with seeds of cotton and other crops at least from the next year's season. The agriculture department must ensure that farmers adopt advanced management techniques instead of only providing brochures.
