Adopt community farming, experts tell cotton growers

NAGPUR: A cotton mela to discuss prevailing issues in cotton sowing and production was held by ICAR-Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) at its premises after a gap of 12 years on Tuesday.

Good amount of research is being done in agriculture, but it fails to reach the farmers, said Sharad Nimbalkar, former vice-chancellor of Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth Akola. “Varieties are developed based on size, quality of the land, seasons, water facilities, yet farmers are unable to benefit from the developments due to lack of awareness. GM seeds industry is worth 3.6 billion dollars and is expected to be worth 8 billion dollars by 2023,” he said.

CICR centres need to educate farmers and develop seeds according to ecological conditions of the area. He urged farmers to take decisions on seeds and fertilizers keeping in mind the quality of their land, their circumstances and financial situation. “Cotton is grown on 16 lakh hectares in Vidarbha alone. Cotton was first grown in India in Kalamb near Yavatmal,” he added.

CD Mayee, former chairman Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board said, “In 2002, when Bt cotton was launched, we thought all problems would be solved. But in 2017, we faced the problem of pink bollworm. Moreover, 35 lakh hectares in Telangana and Maharashtra saw sowing of unauthorized Herbicide tolerant Bt cotton seeds.”

Giving example of Ashta village in Yavatmal, Mayee pointed out the benefits of Integrated Pest Management through community management. He also asked farmers to wait for 15 days when MSP would be raised to Rs6000 per quintal before selling their produce.

Cotton is an important crop in Vidarbha. Farmers feel helpless in the prospect of increasing the yield and their dependency on the crop can be linked to farmer suicides, stated Vanamati director Ravindra Thakre. He asked farmers to learn ways to increase yield through techniques promoted by CICR. By quitting to be a primary producer and responding to markets demands 100 farmers in 13 talukas were able to achieve Rs700 more per quintal than market price, Thakre added.

Ravindra Bhosale, joint director of agriculture, Nagpur, stated, “Farmers need to step into the market through their own company, oversee the cotton being turned to cloth. By making use of agricultural schemes by the government and applying benefits of group farming, end to end results can be achieved.”

This year, the production of cotton has been good, observed RP Singh. Wheat, sugarcane, cotton and other crops have been included under National Fertilizer Mission. He also shared developments under Mission for Horticulture management and Krishi Kalyan Mission.

Initiating the programme, director of ICAR-CICR Nagpur Dr VN Waghmare informed that last year, the impact of pink bollworm was 8-92% causing a financial loss of 30-40% to farmers. This year, the impact is 2-12%, he said.