Organic Cotton Cultivation – A Pragmatic Approach For Resource Poor And Market – Challenged Farmers

Abstract

Cotton, the most important fibre crop of India plays a dominant role in its agrarian and industrial economy. It is the backbone of our textile industry, accounting for 70 per cent of total fibre consumption in textile sector, and 38 per cent of the country’s export, fetching over Rs. 42000 crores. Area under cotton cultivation in India (7.6 million ha) is the highest in the world, i.e., 25 per cent of the world area and employs seven million people for their living. Cotton is a crop most suited to drylands and has flourished there despite the vagaries of nature and poor monsoons. The old cotton varieties were suited to each region and its peculiarities. Hybrid cotton with its promise of high yields changed all that and now in some places farmers are convinced of the need to develop and grow varieties, which are locally suitable.