PROTECTING GROWERS: Shankersinh Vaghela (left), Union Textile Minister and E.V.K. S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Textiles, at a press conference in Bangalore on Monday.
The higher Bt cotton acreage and output will partially compensate the overall decline in cotton acreage and output in North India in 2008-09 (October-September), O P Agarwal, executive director, Cotton Association of India, said today. Lack of irrigation in Ganganagar cotton belt in Rajasthan led to a 35 per cent fall in cotton acreage from 368,000 hectares in 2007-08.
This paper is a synthesis of in-depth case studies of four individual farmers selected from Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, an important cotton growing state accounting for about 33 per cent of India's total cotton area during 2005-06.
In the context of an alarming increase in the farmers’ suicide, the Government of Maharashtra announced a Special Package of Rs. 1,075 crore for six districts of Western Vidarbha (December, 2005). Subsequently, Hon’ble Prime Minister Dr.
Ordinance allows govt to appoint controller, stop exploitation of farmers by traders IN a move aimed at preventing the exploitation of farmers by cotton seed traders who sell seeds including transgenic (BT) cotton'' seeds at high prices, the Maharashtra Government had issued an ordinance which seeks to regulate the supply, distribution and sale of cotton seed by fixing its maximum sale price.
Ahmedabad: Early birds among BT cotton farmers in Surendranagar and Bhavnagar districts have been bit by the millibug. Those farmers who had sown BT cotton just 20 to 25 days ago in their farms are the worst affected in Surendranagar and Bhavnagar districts. There are several cases where farmers have lost all their BT cotton crops. "I had sown the crop just 24 days ago. But today, I lost hope that it could survive after millibug attack on my farm. Now, I have to sow again,'' says a farmer, Sankar Golani of Sayla in Surendrangar district.
P. Sainath The shift from cotton to soybean has major implications for agriculture, livelihoods and the future of the Vidharbha region. "The shift began a few seasons ago but has picked up' "Cotton gets more risky each season' "Soybean input costs are far lower'
T. Ramakrishnan To make available reasonable quantity of cotton for domestic market Karunanidhi writes to Manmohan Recommends 75-80 lakh bales export ceiling CHENNAI: Concerned at the continued rising prices of cotton and yarn, Tamil Nadu has suggested to the Union government to introduce the system of quantitative restriction on export of cotton annually.
In the wake of constant rally in the prices of raw cotton, the textile industry has demanded an immediate ban on cotton exports as well as removal of 10 per cent Customs duty and 4 per cent additional Customs duty on the imports of the commodity for the current year. "Due to non-availability of cotton at an affordable price, 10 per cent of the spindles have stopped working in the spinning mills," said S Dinakaran, vice-chairman, Southern India Mills Association.
Tackling mealy bug menace in Malwa belt As mealy bug attack on cotton and other crops has turned grave, the Punjab government has convened a meeting of the deputy commissioners of the Malwa belt tomorrow at Ferozepur. Sources said senior Agriculture department officers today met at Bathinda after visiting various areas in the Malwa belt where attack of mealy bug was quite intense. Mealy bug problem, common in Chandigarh region for several years, has now become a serious problem in Malwa belt. As grass and other wild plants play host to the bug, its wiping out is a huge task.
