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Budget 2025: Five-year mission to be set up to increase cotton productivity, provide relief to farmers
- The mission will focus on the production of extra-long staple cotton varieties, aiming to enhance quality cotton and rejuvenate India’s traditional textile sector
New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a five-year mission for cotton productivity, providing major relief for cotton farmers faced with lower productivity.
The mission will focus on the production of extra-long staple cotton varieties, aiming to enhance quality cotton and rejuvenate India’s traditional textile sector, the minister said while presenting the Union Budget for FY26 on Saturday.
Increasing the production of long staple cotton is essential to make Kasturi Cotton a success. Kasturi Cotton is an initiative of the government, textile trade bodies and industry with the objective of creating premium value for cotton grown in India.
Mint reported on 26 January that a substantial increase in funding for research and development of high-quality and high-yield hybrid seeds for pulses, edible oils and cotton was expected in the budget.
The agriculture sector, employing 42.3% of the population and contributing 16% to GDP, faces challenges such as climate change that are leading to inconsistent yields.
A case in point is cotton. Imports are set to rise by 42% to 2.5 million bales in the current financial year, even as exports drop by 37% to 1.8 million bales, according to the Cotton Association of India (CAI).
The government has already announced the release of 109 high-yield and climate-resilient varieties of 32 crops, which will take about three years to reach farmers.
India's cotton production has declined in recent years. Production slipped to 35 million bales in FY21, followed by a further drop to 31 million bales in FY22. Though output recovered to 33 million bales in FY23, it fell again to 32 million bales in FY24.
The move is also aimed at giving a fillip to textile exports, which have been declining. They dropped to $29.46 billion in FY21 from $33.83 billion in FY20. Although exports rose to $41.12 billion in FY22, they then fell to $35.55 billion in FY23 and further to $34.4 billion in FY24.
Global seed trade
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has urged the government to introduce a production-linked incentive scheme for the seed industry, along with a research-linked incentive scheme.
The rationale for this is to improve India's modest share of 1% in the global seed export market. With the implementation of appropriate policies, India has the potential to capture 10% of the $14-billion global seed trade, equivalent to ₹10,000 crore, by 2028, as per CII.
“Agriculture will be crucial for India’s goal to become a developed nation by 2047. Not only do we need to increase gross production, we also need to increase profitability by reducing the cost of farming,” said Anurag Shrivastava, founder of Kisaan Mitra, an agri startup. “Providing farmers with better seeds, advanced technology, and machinery will enhance productivity, reduce operational costs, and increase their income. India should become the major exporter of agricultural commodities, that too concentrating on millets and such grains.”
To achieve this, India would require significant infrastructure development, including the establishment of seed export zones equipped with greenhouses, processing and packing facilities, dry ports near production hubs for faster seed movement, and storage infrastructure.
The production of pulses has continued to decline, from 27.3 million tonnes in FY22 to 26 million tonnes in FY23, and 24.5 million tonnes in FY24, according to agriculture ministry data.
According to the data, over the past five years, the most that India produced was 27.3 million tonnes, in FY22. The lowest, 23 million tonnes, came in FY20.
Oilseed production has fluctuated, rising from 37.96 million tonnes in FY22 to 41.36 million tonnes in FY23 before declining to 39.67 million tonnes in FY24.
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Business NewsBudgetBudget 2025: Five-year mission to be set up to increase cotton productivity, provide relief to farmers
First Published:1 Feb 2025, 12:45 PM IST
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