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Our Bureau

Govt to look into reasons for dwindling area under Suvin

Coimbatore , Oct. 6

The Union Government will consider differential minimum support price for extra long staple (ELS) cotton, the Union Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperation, Ms Radha Singh, said on Friday.

Ms Singh, who visited select cotton fields in the last two days, sought to probe into the reasons for the dwindling area under Suvin, an ELS variety that is comparable with Egyptian cotton.

Net income

Briefing presspersons after inaugurating the National Workshop on "Increasing ELS cotton production in the country", she said: "The operational cost of cultivation looks a bit expensive, but the income is phenomenal.''

The net income, according to details furnished, was Rs 14,438/hectare, vis-à-vis conventional varieties.

She said she would on her return to Delhi consider recommending differential MSP for ELS cotton, particularly Suvin.

Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, Ms Singh expressed concern over the dwindling area, production and productivity of the ELS cotton in the growing belts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Demand-supply mismatch

She said: "While the country registered record cotton production of 243 lakh bales in 2004-05 and 244 lakh bales the following year, there is considerable mismatch in the demand and supply of different staple groups, particularly of the ELS cotton.''

Estimates show the requirement of ELS cotton at 10 lakh bales against the present availability of 4-5 lakh bales and this, as per the vision statement of the South India Mills Association, could swell to 15 lakh bales in another 4 years and 20 lakh bales by 2015.

Considering the increasing requirement, she said the Agriculture Ministry had decided to give a special thrust to enhance production

Training, awareness

While urging research scientists to improve the yield and quality, Ms Singh said lack of awareness among growers about proper cultivation techniques had led to the steep decline in area.

"Scientific training and mass awareness through demonstrations, farmers' field schools, contract farming etc., could effectively restore the interest and profitability of the growers. Ensuring availability of adequate quantity of ELS cottonseeds of notified varieties/hybrids, introduction of Bt-ELS cotton would help increase production and control pests. The quality of fibre is dependent on the seed, crop management practices, post harvest technology and the technology used for ginning, cloth machining,'' she said.

The production of cotton would have to increase by at least 75 per cent of the current level of 24.5 million to reach the targeted level of 35 million by 2010, to meet the textile industry's requirement.

To remain competitive, the price of the fibre is critical, particularly in view of the cheap inputs and cheap synthetic man-made fibres from domestic petroleum products.

The workshop, she said would strive to develop an action plan that would address issues such as varietal development, research aspects, propagation and promotion in potential cultivable areas, differential MSP for ELS cotton (after working out the cost economics), shortage of agricultural labourers and establishing a long-term relationship between the industry and the growers to ensure sustainability.

The workshop was organised jointly by the Directorate of Cotton Development, GoI, Ministry of Agriculture, Mumbai, and State Directorate of Agriculture at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

More Stories on : Cotton | Agricultural Policy

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