Interviews
Rains though delayed bring joy to Gujarat cotton farmers
20 Jul '11
3 min read
Monsoon which was playing hide and seek, marked its presence last week in the cotton bowl of India – Gujarat, bringing cheer and joy to the cotton farmers in the state. Any further delay in the rains would have severely affected cotton production in the state.
As on July 6, cotton sowing in Gujarat was down by a massive 66.89 percent from the same time last year, mainly due to a delay in arrivals of rain. Cotton had been cultivated on just 576,000 hectares till then, against 1.74 million hectares in the same period last year in the state.
“The crop this season is going to be very good because of the timing of the rains. Although it was delayed, this rain has helped those farmers, who had not started sowing of the cotton seed”, informed Dr NC Patel, Vice Chancellor - Junagadh Agricultural University.
He added, “So now, in those areas too, where cotton sowing had not been done, the farmers have completed sowing the seeds. Before the monsoon, wherever irrigation facility was available, it has helped those farmers. The farmers need not further irrigate their fields to grow cotton”.
Speaking about cotton production, he said, “As far as other things are concerned, at the moment it is not possible to predict whether the crop will not be good or it will excellent. It all depends on the extent of rains and weather in August and September. But as on date, it is expected to be a good crop”.
Mr Anand Popat, Secretary - Saurashtra Ginners Association (SGA) opined that sowing acreage has increased at least by 15% and if the weather is favorable then the crop in Gujarat will be somewhere around 13 million bales".
Mr Paresh Valia of Asha Cotton Industries said, “The season is a little delayed this time. The sowing will be more this time but the yield will be relatively less. This is because of the use of BT cotton every time and hence the yield keeps on reducing. Since the sowing area is increased, the reduction in yield will not be so apparent.
“The sowing acreage is definitely more than the last year by around 10-15% but the production will remain the same as the yield will be less. Repeated sowing and late sowing both can be held responsible for this.
“As such cotton is not much affected by delayed rains. It is just that the sowing will be delayed and the yield will be procured a little later. But the next crop or re-sowing might face certain problems or difficulties”.
Speaking about future price trends of cotton he said, “The price, as such, will not be affected much but the global and the Indian cotton market depends on the New York futures. So, the price cannot be estimated as of now”.
As on July 6, cotton sowing in Gujarat was down by a massive 66.89 percent from the same time last year, mainly due to a delay in arrivals of rain. Cotton had been cultivated on just 576,000 hectares till then, against 1.74 million hectares in the same period last year in the state.
“The crop this season is going to be very good because of the timing of the rains. Although it was delayed, this rain has helped those farmers, who had not started sowing of the cotton seed”, informed Dr NC Patel, Vice Chancellor - Junagadh Agricultural University.
He added, “So now, in those areas too, where cotton sowing had not been done, the farmers have completed sowing the seeds. Before the monsoon, wherever irrigation facility was available, it has helped those farmers. The farmers need not further irrigate their fields to grow cotton”.
Speaking about cotton production, he said, “As far as other things are concerned, at the moment it is not possible to predict whether the crop will not be good or it will excellent. It all depends on the extent of rains and weather in August and September. But as on date, it is expected to be a good crop”.
Mr Anand Popat, Secretary - Saurashtra Ginners Association (SGA) opined that sowing acreage has increased at least by 15% and if the weather is favorable then the crop in Gujarat will be somewhere around 13 million bales".
Mr Paresh Valia of Asha Cotton Industries said, “The season is a little delayed this time. The sowing will be more this time but the yield will be relatively less. This is because of the use of BT cotton every time and hence the yield keeps on reducing. Since the sowing area is increased, the reduction in yield will not be so apparent.
“The sowing acreage is definitely more than the last year by around 10-15% but the production will remain the same as the yield will be less. Repeated sowing and late sowing both can be held responsible for this.
“As such cotton is not much affected by delayed rains. It is just that the sowing will be delayed and the yield will be procured a little later. But the next crop or re-sowing might face certain problems or difficulties”.
Speaking about future price trends of cotton he said, “The price, as such, will not be affected much but the global and the Indian cotton market depends on the New York futures. So, the price cannot be estimated as of now”.
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