Cotton acreage has decreased in almost all major producing states
25-Sep-2024 05:46 PM
New Delhi. In the current Kharif season, cotton acreage has fallen drastically as Indian farmers have given special priority to the cultivation of crops like paddy, pigeon pea, green gram, maize, soybean and groundnut.
According to the information received, its production area increased marginally only in Karnataka and Odisha, while its sowing area declined in all the remaining major producing states - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.
The latest data from the Union Agriculture Ministry shows that in the current Kharif season, the total production area of cotton at the national level could reach only 112.76 lakh hectares,
which was 10.95 lakh hectares or about 9 percent less than last year's sowing area of 123.71 lakh hectares.
This area also remained far behind the normal average area of 129.34 lakh hectares of the last five years.
In the country's three top producing states - Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, along with the reduction in sowing area, there are reports of damage to the cotton crop due to floods and rains.
The same situation is in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. According to official data, compared to last year, during the current Kharif season,
the cotton production area in Gujarat declined from 26.79 lakh hectares to 23.62 lakh hectares, in Maharashtra from 42.22 lakh hectares to 40.75 lakh hectares and in Telangana from 18.01 lakh hectares to 17.39 lakh hectares.
Similarly, during the period under review, the area under cotton cultivation declined from 6.50 lakh hectares to 6.14 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh, from 6.65 lakh hectares to 4.76 lakh hectares in Haryana,
from 7.90 lakh hectares to 5.19 lakh hectares in Rajasthan and from 3.80 lakh hectares to 3.71 lakh hectares in Andhra Pradesh.
In Punjab also it fell from 2.14 lakh hectares to 1.00 lakh hectares. Cotton production area was recorded at 6.74 lakh hectares in Karnataka and 2.36 lakh hectares in Orissa which is slightly more than last year.