Gujarat Government opting for establishing Centre for Cotton Excellence

Gujarat government is opting for establishing centre for cotton excellence in the state, a highly places source associated with this development told DeshGujarat.

“Presently, some farmers have achieved up to 2000 Kg/Ha production of lint. This necessitates establishment of Centre for Cotton Excellence for cotton in Gujarat, which will work especially for improving quality seed production and adoption of Good Agricultural practices among cotton farmers. This way we can achieve another green revolution. We can achieve production of 200 lakh bales of cotton up to year 2015 from the same land available under cotton farming,” a source in the state agriculture department said.

“Cotton sector is providing maximum employment, by promoting other related industries like transportation, ginning, cotton cake and fiber. Therefore, It is necessary to establish a Centre for Cotton Excellence in Gujarat, so we have demanded the centre to help us under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna(RSVY) or under special assistance”, said the official.

At present area under cotton cultivation is 110.55 lakh Ha. in India, while in Gujarat it is 26.33 lakh Ha., which is 23.81% of total area under cotton crop in India.

Total cotton production at national level is expected to be 339.25 lakh bales during the current year. Out of which approximately 104 lakh bales will be produced in Gujarat, which is about 30% of the total production in India. Around 11-15% employment in rural area is provided by cotton and fiber related sector in India.

Cotton provides Rs.30000 cores income to the rural areas of Gujarat. Lint productivity in cotton is 600 Kg/Ha. which can be improved up to 1100 Kg/Ha. with the help of improved technology and Good Agricultural Practices.