Cotton Curse: Tired of losses, farmers giving up cotton on a large scale
- October 29, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
Cotton Curse: Tired of losses, farmers giving up cotton on a large scale
Subject :Geography
Section: Economic geography
Context:
- Cotton farmers in the northern cotton zone have experienced the worst pink bollworm attack on their crops in two decades this year.
Details:
- Pest attacks on cotton crops have occurred on a regular basis in recent years. Farmers are being forced to switch to other crops due to continued losses and uncertainty.
- Farmers are experimenting with horticulture and paddy as an alternative to cotton farming.
- Paddy cultivation requires less labor and has reduced risks of infestation than that of cotton.
- Paddy fetches have an MSP of Rs 3,200 while the MSP for cotton is Rs 6,235 per quintal.
- As per the state agriculture department, the cotton cultivation area has decreased from 421,000 hectares in 2014-15 to 248,900 hectares in 2022-23, and the production of cotton has halved from 1,347 bales to 444 bales in the period. Whereas paddy cultivation has increased from 2,895,000 hectares to 3,167,800 hectares for the same timeframe.
Cotton is one of the most important fiber and cash crop of India and plays a dominant role in the industrial and agricultural economy of the country. It provides the basic raw material (cotton fibre) to cotton textile industry. Cotton in India provides direct livelihood to 6 million farmers and about 40 -50 million people are employed in cotton trade and its processing. In India, there are ten major cotton growing states which are divided into three zones, viz. north zone, central zone and south zone. North zone consists of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Central zone includes Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. South zone comprises Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Besides these ten States, cotton cultivation has gained momentum in the Eastern State of Orissa. Cotton is also cultivated in small areas of non-traditional States such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal & Tripura Climate & Soil Requirement Cotton, a semi-xerophyte, is grown in tropical & sub tropical conditions. A minimum temperature of 15oC is required for better germination at field conditions. The optimum temperature for vegetative growth is 21-27oC & it can tolerate temperature to the extent of 43oC but temperature below 21oC is detrimental to the crop. Warm days of cool nights with large diurnal variations during the period of fruiting are conducive to good boll & fibre development. Cotton is grown on a variety of soils ranging from well drained deep alluvial soils in the north to black clayey soils of varying depth in central region and in black and mixed black and red soils in south zone. Cotton is semi-tolerant to salinity and sensitive to water logging and thus prefers well drained soils. Crop Season Cotton is a Kharif crop in the major parts of the country |
Pink Bollworm:
- It is an insect known for being a pest in cotton farming.
- It is native to Asia, but has become an invasive species in most of the world’s cotton-growing regions.
- In parts of India, the pink bollworm is now resistant to first generation transgenic Bt cotton (Bollgard cotton) that expresses a single Bt gene (Cry1Ac). Monsanto has admitted that this variety is ineffective against the pink bollworm pest in parts of Gujarat, India.
Bollgard-I and Bollgard-II:
- Bollgard- I and Bollgard- II help in developing genetically modified crop plants. Bollgard cotton provides in-built protection for cotton against destructive Bollworm infestations, and contains an insecticidal protein from a naturally occurring soil microorganism, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
- Bollgard Bt cotton (single-gene technology) is India’s first biotech crop technology approved for commercialization in India in 2002.
- Bollgard II technology contains a superior double-gene technology – Cry1Ac and Cry 2Ab which provides protection against bollworms and Spodoptera caterpillars.
Source: DownToEarth