Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) expects India’s cotton production during cotton season 2021-22 (October to September) to be above 350 lakh bales.
J. Thulasidharan, President, ICF has said that the increase in minimum support price (MSP) has encouraged farmers and helped maintain the area under cotton. It has also incentivised farmers to take up better crop management practices. Simultaneously, on the export front too, the demand was robust.
At the annual meeting of the Federation, the office-bearers elected new office bearers that included J. Thulasidharan (President), P. Natraj and Adhitya Krishna Pathy (Vice-Presidents) and Nishant Asher (Secretary).
J. Thulasidharan also insisted that it is important to address issues like fibre quality, proper grading, improved seed and initiatives to realise better yield.
He added that the next revolution should come only from increasing the yield. With the right initiatives, Indian farmers could reach a yield of 1,000 kg, which should be the priority of all stakeholders.
Brands across US and Europe were forcing suppliers to go for sustainable tag and Indian cotton had not been recognised as sustainable. The Agricultural Ministry should take initiatives to bring out simple sustainable guidelines, which could be easily implemented by the Indian farmer.