Organic cotton constitutes just 1-2 per cent of the 125 lakh hectares under the natural fibre in India. But islands of sustained experiments hold promise for the organic variant.
Grameena Vikas Kendram, a non-governmental organisation working with tribal farmers in north-coastal Andhra Pradesh, has pooled together about 3,000 tribal farmers to procure 400 tonnes of organic cotton in the 2022-23 kharif season.
“We have delivered it to international brands in the US, Germany and the UK. Farmers have earned at least ₹500-600 more on each quintal (the market price is ₹7,200-7,500) of the fibre they produced,” Aneel Kumar Ambavaram, the chief functionary of the Visakhapatnam-baded NGO, told businessline.
Starting small with 42 farmers in three villages, the Raddis (Radical disruption) initiative has spread to 140 villages. “At least half of them sold the output to other buyers. They don’t just grow. They grow a variety of crops,” Ambavaram said.
The NGO has branded their output as Raddis Cotton, which is finding international buyers.
Encouraged by the good output, the NGO plans to extend the programme to more villages. “We are planning to explore export opportunities in Australia, France and Denmark,” he said.
In Telangana, KV Ramana Reddy is like a lone wolf. While other farmers in the region go for transgenic cotton, he has stuck to organic cultivation for over 20 years , firmly resisting the temptations of Bt cotton.
Cost savings
“I’m saving ₹80 for every ₹100 that other farmers spend, by following natural farming methods. Further, I’m getting ₹1,000-1,500 more on every quintal of organic cotton that I sell,” says Reddy, who grows cotton in 25 acres in Karvanga village of Nagarkurnool district.
Inspired by Subhash Palekar’s Zero Budget Farming, Reddy grows several other crops such as chillies, paddy and pulses using natural farming techniques.
He has just executed a 10-tonne deal for his organic cotton with a Hyderabad-based speciality fabric company.
“I have produced 20 tonnes of cotton this year. The other half I sold in the open market,” he said.
GV Ramanjaneyulu, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, said cultivation of organic cotton, which offered promise a few years ago, didn’t take off well for several reasons.
Apart from dwindling interest among farmers, the issue of contamination (natural crop affected by transgenic crops) poses a serious challenge
Availability of seeds, varieties
As many as 64 non-GM (non-Bt) cotton varieties and hybrids were released by the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) and the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) during 2017-21 that can be adopted by organic cotton growers. Farmers are also offered breeder seeds and a package of practices for organic cotton production.
Global ranking
Despite hiccups, India accounts for half the global production of 2.5 million tonnes of organic cotton. Madhya Pradesh tops among States with 38 per cent of the 8.11 lakh tonnes of organic cotton that the country produced in 2020-21. Orissa follows at 20 per cent.