Economic Analysis

Mission For Cotton Productivity

March 14, 2025
Niti Tantra

Introduction 

Cotton is one of the most important cash crops of India, as India is one of the world’s largest producers of cotton.  Due to its economic importance, cotton is also known as “white gold.” Despite being one of the world’s largest producers of cotton, the productivity of cotton in India remains low. In terms of area, India is at the top, but when we talk about yield, it is in 33rd  place in the world.

Analysis 

BT cotton dominates India’s cotton cultivation. It is a genetically modified variety of cotton engineered to produce a toxin that protects the crop from specific insect pests, especially the bollworm. More than 95% of the cotton produced in India is genetically modified. Although BT cotton initially delivered positive results, recent data indicates a declining trend in cotton productivity and exports.

Cultivators also face several challenges associated with Bt cotton, which will be discussed further in this paper. Additionally, one of the most important objectives of the current mission is to promote the cultivation of extra-long staple (ELS) cotton varieties, which are considered premium. However, the production of these high-quality varieties remains limited in India.

Historical context of BT cotton in India 

 Cotton is one of the oldest crops grown in India.With the advent of the Britishers in India, the demand for cotton increased in the market. G. hirsutum L. was introduced in the 1790s to increase production for the Industrial Revolution in England. Hybrid cotton (primarily G. hirsutum) is unique to India and was first developed in the mid-1950s, ostensibly to increase yield and quality through heterosis. The hybrid cotton was prone to the pink bollworm, and to counter the problem of PBW(Pink bollworm), due to which Indian farmers were spending a lot of money on insecticides, the new BT cotton was introduced in India in 2002, which was resistant to PBW.