Neither season, nor profit… how did ‘cotton’ wither from Punjab?
2025-07-31 14:53:54
Why did Punjab's cotton wither?
There are three important belts in Punjab – Malwa, Majha, Doaba. Majha belt is known for cotton belt i.e. cotton cultivation. The reason is that cotton requires less water. Cotton cultivation was also done in large quantity in Malwa belt, but fake seeds, duplicate pesticides in the market have broken the back of the farmers.
While the Punjab government is constantly making farmers aware for crop diversification, the farmers of Punjab are getting disillusioned with the cotton crop. Farmers no longer want to cultivate cotton. The result of this is that this year cotton cultivation is decreasing in the state. On the other hand, if we talk about the last 10 years, cotton production has fallen by 25.66 percent. Farmer leader Jangveer Singh says that 10 years ago, farmers of Malwa belt used to grow a lot of cotton, but now the situation has become such that instead of cotton, farmers want to grow crops which require less pesticide and also get the price of the crop at a reasonable price of MSP.
There are three important belts in Punjab, Malwa, Majha, Doaba. Majha belt is known as cotton belt i.e. for cotton cultivation. The reason is that cotton requires less water. At the same time, cotton was cultivated in large quantities in Malwa belt, but fake seeds and duplicate pesticides in the market broke the back of the farmers. As a result, years passed and cotton cultivation decreased. The situation has become such that farmers are now cultivating only paddy and wheat.
Farmer leader Jangveer Singh said that one problem is that the farmer does not cultivate any other crop other than the crop he goes for. As a result, that crop becomes so much that its price goes down. At present, only white eucalyptus crop is being grown in Majha and Malwa belts of Punjab. Dr. Harsh, an agricultural scientist of Punjab University, said that farmers want cotton crop, but the outbreak of pink caterpillar and white fly has turned farmers away from this farming.
How much should be the price of cotton?
The second biggest reason has been the uncertainty over the minimum support price (MSP). The crop is available at a low price. According to agricultural scientist Dr. Harsh, the price of cotton should be seven to eight thousand per quintal, but it is not. On the other hand, Malwa belt is now becoming a cancer belt. The biggest reason for this is that the pesticides used for the crops there, go and mix with the ground water. Due to this, the water has become so contaminated that people are getting afflicted with this disease.
On the other hand, when Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian was questioned about farmers getting disillusioned with cotton farming, he said that we are encouraging the farmers, explaining to the farmers that they should cultivate cotton. Farmers will also get a fair price for cotton.
118 blocks of Punjab have gone into the red zone
According to a report, the groundwater level of Punjab is already falling, which Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann himself keeps mentioning. To improve the water situation, people are being encouraged to grow low-water crops. 118 blocks have gone into the red zone. 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 one lakh hectares.
Cotton Corporation of India report There has been a decline in the purchase of cotton at MSP in Punjab. According to a report of the Cotton Corporation of India in March, only two thousand bales were purchased at MSP in Punjab in the year 2024-25, whereas 3.56 lakh bales were purchased at MSP in the year 2019-20, 5.36 lakh bales were purchased at MSP in 2020-21, during 2021-22 and 2022-23 the market price of cotton was above MSP. Therefore, there was no purchase at MSP during these two years, but in the year 2023-24 only 38 thousand bales were purchased at MSP. Farmers and experts say that we want the government to give the right price on crops, end the problem of fake seeds, only then the condition of crops in Punjab will be right.
