Farmers Abandon Crops in Haryana's Cotton Belt Due to Losses

Haryana, June 1 (KNN) In a significant shift, many farmers in Haryana's cotton belt, comprising the districts of Hisar, Sirsa, and Fatehabad, are moving away from cotton cultivation.

This year, cotton was sown on 11 lakh acres, a sharp decline from last year's 16 lakh acres.

Farmers cite the pink bollworm infestation as a primary reason for abandoning the crop. For the past three years, they have faced losses due to pink bollworm, whitefly infestations, and adverse weather conditions.

“Last year, we struggled to get compensation for crop damage as insurance firms refused to provide service in cluster 2, which includes Hisar. This year, there's still no confirmation from the state government about cotton insurance,” said Rajiv Malik, a farm activist, reported Tribune.

According to the Agriculture Department, the area under cotton has decreased by 30% across the state this kharif season. Experts are concerned that many farmers might switch to water-intensive paddy, despite state government schemes discouraging paddy cultivation.

In Sirsa, which has the highest cotton acreage in Haryana, the area under cotton has dropped from five lakh acres last year to 3.1 lakh acres this season, a 40% decline. Fatehabad and Hisar also saw significant reductions, with the cotton area decreasing by 81,500 acres and 50,000 acres, respectively.

Mukesh Repaswal, a farmer from Kirtan village, decided against sowing cotton this year after suffering consecutive losses. “I used to cultivate three acres of cotton annually but incurred losses of around Rs 20,000-22,000 per acre. This year, I switched to guar,” he said, citing poor seed quality, high input costs, and low market prices as additional factors.

The market rate for cotton, affected by pink bollworm and untimely rains, has dropped to around Rs 5,000 per quintal, below the MSP of Rs 6,620 for medium staple and Rs 7,020 for long staple cotton.

Karmal Singh, a cotton expert at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University, noted that alternatives like bajra, guar, moong, and paddy are available.

However, only a small fraction of farmers might opt for paddy due to its irrigation needs. Singh also highlighted that while BT cotton is resistant to American bollworm, it is vulnerable to pink bollworm.

(KNN Bureau)