Modernizing-cotton cultivation through tech infusion is imperative

Cotton is an important cash crop for our country. It is not merely an agricultural crop but an industrial commodity too as it has multiple uses, food and non-food. Cotton represents 5F – Fibre, Food, Feed, Fuel and Fertilizer. In other words, cotton economy is a composite economy and critical for India as it helps generate employment, incomes and export earnings.

After regulatory approval, India has been cultivating genetically modified (GM) cottonseed - Bt. Cotton seed – for well over 20 years now. Currently Bt. Cotton seed is planted in almost 90 percent of the country’s planted area of 125-130 lakh hectares.

However, in the last 3-4 years, Indian cotton cultivation has been facing daunting challenges including land constraints, water shortage and climate change. Production has steadily declined from 360 lakh bales in 2019-20 to 294 lakh bales in 2024-25. Cotton market fundamentals are tightening.

There is a strong case for infusing multiple technologies to revive the steadily weakening cotton economy. Primarily, yields have to increase substantially from the current low national average of around 450 kilograms per hectare. If we continue with ‘business-as-usual’ attitude, India will get entrenched as a net importer of cotton.

Notwithstanding the procurement policy and in the absence of remunerative returns, cotton farmers are becoming increasingly demotivated and disenchanted. The need for policy support, research support and investment support has never been greater than at present.

It is in this context that news reports of illegal / unauthorized planting of herbicide tolerant (HT) varieties of genetically modified cottonseed are disturbing. These varieties called HTBt do not have regulatory approval. Yet, in their anxiety to raise yield and save high cost of manual weeding, some growers have reportedly planted HTBt cotton.

Planting of unauthorized seed not only mirrors the anxiety of growers, but equally it is a reflection of regulatory failure. Policymakers have to be ahead of the curve by studying global trends and anticipating expectations; but in our country, they are lagging. Growers seem to be running out of patience.

At the same time, it is necessary to place some facts on record. According to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the environmental release of GM crops is under adjudication in the Writ Petition (Civil) 115/2004 titled as Gene Campaign Vs Union of India & Ors. and Writ Petition (Civil) 260 of 2005 titled as Aruna Rodrigues Vs Union of India & Ors., respectively before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, which covers the various aspects of GM crops.

Additionally, the National Agricultural Research System under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its institutes and State Agriculture Universities has developed new varieties/ hybrids tolerant to various biotic and abiotic stresses with enhanced quality.

In the last ten years (2014 - 2024), 331 varieties of Cotton/Bt Cotton have been released and recommended for commercial cultivation. The location-specific high yielding varieties and their management technologies and practices of these varieties are recommended for farmers of the country, regularly.

Different weed management technologies along with the existing mechanical and chemical weed control strategies in cotton have been developed and disseminated among farmers for large-scale adoption though Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK), State Department of Agriculture, Doordarshan television, ICT tools like mobile apps, etc., according to the government.

Union Minister Shri Chouhan flagged two pressing concerns highlighted during (his recent) campaign - substandard seeds and pesticides. In response, the Ministry will take strong measures to strengthen the Seed Act and ensure stringent quality control mechanisms, so that only certified, high-quality inputs reach farmers. “This campaign aimed to fill up the gap between the research labs and the agricultural fields. We’ve seen remarkable work happening, but challenges persist. Our focus must now be on increasing productivity, reducing input costs, and ensuring that agriculture becomes a profitable and sustainable livelihood for every farmer,” he added.

Despite all these ongoing measures, the fact remains that cotton acreage is shrinking, yields are down and production is on the decline. This raises questions over the effectiveness of the ongoing measures, calls for a thorough review and possibly a different set of initiatives.

Strategies to strengthen the Indian cotton sector and make it globally competitive are available. This author is on public record recommending a four pillar approach – Technology infusion; Boost to input research; Replication; and Contract farming.

IMC-Economic Research and Training Foundation (ERTF) has the requisite domain expertise and a set of strategic policy recommendations to strengthen the Indian cotton economy in order to move towards global competitiveness. The current Indian status of cotton is a wakeup call for policymakers. Cotton demands proactive policy support, research support and investment support.

Industry and trade bodies have the moral duty to brainstorm strategies to overcome the crisis and set cotton on a growth path that ensures sustained growth in sustainable ways. There is a strong case for creating Policy - Research – Industry interface. Stakeholder engagement is critical.