Cotton area up 50% in state as farmers expect better returns
Crop sown on 3.82 lakh hectares this time as against 2.57 lakh hectares last year
MANSA/MUKTSAR : The area under cotton cultivation has increased by 50% in Punjab. From 2.57 lakh hectares last year, cotton has been sown on 3.82 lakh hectares this year.
The last year’s dip was attributed to farmers switching to paddy after the whitefly attack that destroyed over 60% of the cotton crop causing an estimated loss of ₹4,200 crore in Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Fazilka districts, also known as the cotton belt of Punjab.
Director, agriculture, JS Bains said awareness camps and high prices — between ₹6,000 and ₹6,500 per 100kg — for their produce last year encouraged more farmers to go for sowing cotton this year. “Per hectare yield in 2016 was 756kg as compared to 197kg in 2015. We held training sessions for farmers on preventive practices to avoid whitefly attack,” said Bains.
“Our surveillance teams kept us updated about growth cotton sowing area. We had familiarised farmers to preventive techniques like yellow trap which kept the whitefly away from the field,” he said, adding that the cultivable area is likely to increase to sixlakh hectare by the next year.
Cotton farmers say they have bought seeds and pesticides prescribed by the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and expect a bumper crop this year.
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) also attributed better prices to increased cotton acreage. CCI bathinda branch manager Brijesh Kasana said: “The average price offered for cotton was ₹5,500-₹5,600 a quintal and last year it jumped to ₹6,500. The farmers realised this and they have sown the crop expecting similar dividends this year too,” he said.
The government wants to revive cotton production to end the wheat-paddy cycle, he said, adding the area is not suited to paddy cultivation due to depleting water table.
‘MORE OF A COMPULSION THAN CHOICE’
“The input cost of growing waterguzzling paddy is more than cotton,” said Ram Singh of Behnibagah village in Mansa. Cotton cultivation needs less water and thus involves no fuel cost for running submersible pumps, he added. “The choice to grow cotton is more of a compulsion than choice due to poor supply of canal water,” said farmer Joginder Singh of Makha village, adding that the underground water is not suitable for the cotton crop.
We had familiarised farmers to preventive techniques like yellow trap, which kept the whitefly away from the fields. JS BAINS, director, agriculture