Interviews
Gujarat-Africa cotton value-chain cooperation looks promising
30 Nov '10
7 min read
Dr DB Desai, President – Gujarat Seed Producers Association, spoke briefly about how since the introduction of three Bt cotton hybrid varieties in 2003 and release of more hybrids in the following years had changed the scope of production of cotton in India and particularly in Gujarat where prior to introduction of Bt hybrids, only 11 districts were cultivating cotton, which rose to 17 districts and today 1.7 million hectares of the 2.6 million cotton acreage is under Bt cotton seed cultivation.
Dr AG Patel, General Manager (Retd) of Bayer India Ltd articulated on the need to have an 'Integrated Pest Management' system in place, as excessive use of pesticides creates an imbalance and recommended judicial use of pesticides and to first employ other avenues to control pests and only then, use pesticides as a last resort.
Mr Gautam Shah, Chairman - Sagar Group, which is a well-known exporter of raw cotton since the last four decades, spoke about the export potential of the cotton grown in Gujarat and informed that most of cotton that was exported from Gujarat was certified by Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association (ATIRA), which has a well-equipped cotton testing laboratory and provides services in cotton testing and grading and suggested the African delegates to set up a cotton testing laboratory along similar lines, in their country.
He spoke in glowing words about how the revolution in cotton farming had helped India reduce cotton imports and was today restricted to importing only, extra long staple cotton like Pima, Ultima, Giza and CIS cotton for spinning super fine counts. Earlier US cotton and African cotton were popular amongst Indian spinners, but same is substituted by Indian domestic cotton, due to lower price and ready availability, he said.
In summarizing and thanking their Indian hosts, the leader of the African delegation, Mr Rajiv Arora, Executive Director at African Cotton & Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF) hoped that, this visit helps identify farm supplies and equipment suppliers and link them to Africa, facilitate investors to invest in Africa, develop synergy in technology transfer and capacity building and explore possibilities of developing microfinance projects that will support production in Africa.
The one unanimous opinion echoed across by most of the African delegates at the conference was that, they very much wanted to make the purpose of this visit and the vision of an “India - Africa Co-operation along the Cotton Value Chain” a reality.
Dr AG Patel, General Manager (Retd) of Bayer India Ltd articulated on the need to have an 'Integrated Pest Management' system in place, as excessive use of pesticides creates an imbalance and recommended judicial use of pesticides and to first employ other avenues to control pests and only then, use pesticides as a last resort.
Mr Gautam Shah, Chairman - Sagar Group, which is a well-known exporter of raw cotton since the last four decades, spoke about the export potential of the cotton grown in Gujarat and informed that most of cotton that was exported from Gujarat was certified by Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association (ATIRA), which has a well-equipped cotton testing laboratory and provides services in cotton testing and grading and suggested the African delegates to set up a cotton testing laboratory along similar lines, in their country.
He spoke in glowing words about how the revolution in cotton farming had helped India reduce cotton imports and was today restricted to importing only, extra long staple cotton like Pima, Ultima, Giza and CIS cotton for spinning super fine counts. Earlier US cotton and African cotton were popular amongst Indian spinners, but same is substituted by Indian domestic cotton, due to lower price and ready availability, he said.
In summarizing and thanking their Indian hosts, the leader of the African delegation, Mr Rajiv Arora, Executive Director at African Cotton & Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF) hoped that, this visit helps identify farm supplies and equipment suppliers and link them to Africa, facilitate investors to invest in Africa, develop synergy in technology transfer and capacity building and explore possibilities of developing microfinance projects that will support production in Africa.
The one unanimous opinion echoed across by most of the African delegates at the conference was that, they very much wanted to make the purpose of this visit and the vision of an “India - Africa Co-operation along the Cotton Value Chain” a reality.
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