Cotton touches the lives of ordinary people every day, whether as a product or as a means of employment. More than one million farmers in India are involved in the cultivation of cotton. Through its use in textiles, cotton contributes tremendously to industrial production and export earnings. The cotton crop is natural to India with its centre of origin in the Deccan plateau. Being a kharif crop, it is heavily dependent on the monsoons and is widely grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. 

The biggest constraint in domestic cotton production is the yield, which has been lower than the world average. India not only has the largest area allocated to cotton in the world, it also has the largest workforce dependent on cotton in the world.

Given the importance of cotton in the economy, the Centre for Good Governance in Hyderabad organised a national workshop on February 27-28, 2006, on the subject ‘Indian cotton farming at the crossroads: Strategies and ways forward’. The workshop discussed the current problem of overpricing of Bt (bacillus thuringensis) cotton seed supplied by the Monsanto company, and other problems associated with cotton cultivation in India with special reference to Andhra Pradesh. The workshop was chaired by Poonam Malakondaiah, Commissioner and Director of Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Experts from different states of India presented papers and discussed the cotton problem in various technical sessions. The discussions focused on the following themes:

• Cotton cultivation and international trade
• Sustainable cotton cultivation
• Monopoly and pricing of cotton seeds
• Sharing of cotton experiences from different states of India
• Bt cotton technology issues
• Recommendation on strategies to improve cotton cultivation in India

Problems with Bt cotton
Cotton has received much attention in recent years because hundreds of cotton farmers have committed suicide. The series of suicides cannot be viewed in isolation from the changes in policy and their impact on the stakeholders. The stakeholders include private companies that have entered the sector in a big way, introducing the latest technology and quality services that should have been in the interests of the farming community.

However, the lack of accountability of private/transnational companies is a major concern. The propaganda disseminated by these companies has induced farmers to test and adopt some of their products. With the prevailing uncertainties in cotton, any technology that promises some solution is attractive to farmers who may not be aware of the long-term consequences. There is also a serious concern about the lack of availability of a package of practice (PoP) on Bt cotton. This has constrained the government from adopting it.

This opens the issue of transparency in technology which some companies are reluctant to share, making it difficult for institutions to vouch for PoP without validation. Plant protection experts feel that even if Bt cotton is grown, it needs to have IPM (integrated pest management) technology to reduce other pest infestations. They feel that Bt cotton’s advantage over non-Bt cotton thus needs to be revisited.

Alternative technologies
Dr T N Prakash in his presentation ‘Towards sustainable cotton cultivation and fair trade in India’ spoke about improving alternative technology to Bt cotton keeping in view some of its failures. The failures include Bt cotton inducing untargeted pest resurgence which spoils the farmer’s advantage. He advocated going back to organic farming to control pests and diseases. This would also significantly reduce the cost of cultivation besides enriching the environment.

Falling prices and trade policies
Centad’s research officer, Linu Mathew Philip, made a presentation on ‘Indian Cotton Dilemma – Caught in the International Cotton Mesh’. (Click here to view the presentation).

The presentation highlighted the current predicament of cotton cultivation in India, which is at huge risk from the uncertainty of the yield. The problem with the cotton crop arises from the inclemency of the weather, seeds, pests and diseases, and poor trade policies, which are beyond the control of farmers. While some of these factors are also beyond the control of policymakers, trade policies can be regulated at the national level to reduce the inflow of cotton in the domestic market and yield better and assured prices to farmers.

The high expectation in cotton comes from the huge demand for the crop combined with volatile prices at international levels. The domestic market is plagued by lack of protection from both fluctuating yield and market risks; the net losers are the capital-starved small farmers. Farm surveys carried out in Warangal revealed that poor prices are the most important factor pushing farmers to bankruptcy, disillusionment and suicide.

With the prevailing depressed price of cotton and the manipulation of prices at the global level, it will be futile to bank on technology. The presentation suggested that the cotton problem cannot be solved without factoring in trade issues.

Conclusion
The workshop concluded by suggesting that market distortion is a serious issue that must be addressed if any headway is to be made in bringing welfare gains to cotton farmers. But any successful outcome can only emerge if these recommendations find a place in the tariff structure, providing adequate protection to farmers’ marketing interests.

February 2006