Report of the committee on cotton production research

28 Sep '10

5 min read

1.4. The main reasons for high costs of production in Zambia are poor rural infrastructure, the high cost of inputs, minimal mechanization, low use of inputs and the lack of incentives to invest in cotton production. These factors are common in Africa. Zambia is striving to lower the cost of production by improving soil fertility, by encouraging the use of IPM, through the promotion of low cost agricultural products, the promotion of labor saving farm machinery, the use of herbicides instead of manual labor, and through better harvest management.

1.5. Pakistan is focused on lowering production costs by optimizing input use and farming operations. Cotton growers in Pakistan generally have a sound understanding of cotton production technology, but yields are limited due to the cotton leaf curl virus and mealy bug. Researchers have contained both problems while limiting increases in the cost of production. Farmers in Pakistan enhance nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency by 15% by splitting nitrogen applications in consonance with crop growth. Foliar applications of urea at the rate of 2% saves from having to apply much higher doses of urea through soil applications. Pakistan is quickly shifting from flat planting toward planting on furrow-beds to save irrigation water. Pakistan adopted thresholds for the application of insecticides decades ago. However, frequent increases in energy costs are affecting the cost of production.

2. The ICAC supports four regional networks, and also cooperates with the African Cotton Association, in order to facilitate communication among cotton researchers. Since the 68th Plenary Meeting held in South Africa in September 2009, the 11th Meeting of the Latin American Association for Cotton Research and Development (ALIDA) was held in Argentina in June 2010. 140 participants from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay attended the meeting, along with the ICAC Secretariat and invited speakers from Australia and the USA. Countries presented reports on production prospects and the status of breeding and biotechnology research in their countries. Mr. Bonacic Ivan Kresic of Argentina was elected President of ALIDA. Paraguay agreed to host the next meeting of ALIDA in 2012.

3. Lowering the cost of cotton production is a complex challenge, and there is no easy solution appropriate for all cotton production systems. Labor costs are increasing even in developing countries. Mechanization and herbicide use are solutions that could be encouraged by governments in collaboration with the private sector and cotton producers. Biotech cotton can help to lower the cost of production in some cases, but it is not appropriate in all cotton production systems. Efficient input use and proper management of cropping systems must not be ignored in any cotton production system for lowering the cost of cotton production.

4. Biotech cotton is grown on over half of world cotton area, but only 11 countries have commercialized biotech cotton so far, although many more are considering adoption. Some member countries expressed the need to exchange information about biotechnology, and therefore it was decided to organize a round table for biotechnology in cotton, in which all member countries may participate.

5. The Committee on Cotton Production Research of the ICAC decided to hold the 2011 Technical Seminar on the topic “Technological Innovations for Sustainable Development of the Cotton Value Chain.”

International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)

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