Declining Cotton Production: Causes & Consequences

India’s traditional North Indian cotton belt is shrinking rapidly, with acreage declining by 23.2% to 9.09 lakh hectares across Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

Current Facts and Data

• Regional Decline: Cotton acreage in Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan fell 23.2%, from 12 to 9.09 lakh ha.
• Punjab Decline: Punjab recorded the sharpest decline, with acreage falling 37.5% to nearly 80,000 ha.
• Haryana Shift: Haryana’s cotton area declined to 2.95 lakh ha, alongside expanding paddy cultivation.
• Rajasthan Decline: Rajasthan’s cotton acreage fell 18.5% to 5.34 lakh ha, remaining the largest northern cotton producer.
• Long-Term Pest Pressure: Punjab’s acreage fell from nearly 7 lakh ha, with decline accelerating after 2015 whitefly and post-2021 pink bollworm attacks.

Importance of Cotton in India

• Agricultural Scale: India has 114.84 lakh ha under cotton, around 38% of global cotton area, making it the world’s largest cotton-growing area.
• Textile Backbone: Cotton contributes nearly 19% of global fibre production, supporting India’s large spinning, weaving, and apparel value chain.
• Livelihood Source: Over 6 million farmers cultivate cotton, while the linked textile sector provides 45 million+ direct jobs.
• Economic Significance: Cotton production reached 290.91 lakh bales in 2025–26, while domestic consumption stood at 328 lakh bales, highlighting its industrial importance.
• Genetic Diversity: India uniquely cultivates all four cotton species (G. arboreum, G. herbaceum, G. barbadense, and G. hirsutum), offering diverse fiber characteristics.

Major Causes of Declining Cotton Production

• Rainfed Dependence: Around 62% of cotton area is rain-fed, exposing yields to erratic rainfall, heat stress, dry spells, and waterlogging.
• Pest Resistance: Pink bollworm resistance to Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab has weakened Bt protection, increasing crop losses and pesticide dependence.
• Soil Degradation: Cotton monocropping and imbalanced fertiliser use degrade soil health, reducing fertility, organic matter, and resilience to climate shocks.
• Crop Diversification: Farmers are shifting towards more remunerative crops, contributing to cotton production falling from 352.48 to 290.91 lakh bales between 2020-21 and 2025-26.
• Market Constraints: High input costs, price volatility, quality concerns, and limited value addition reduce profitability, weakening farmers’ incentives to continue cotton cultivation.

Reasons for North India’s Cotton Belt Shrinking

• Climate Stress: Erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and extreme temperatures disrupt sowing, flowering, and boll formation in the largely rain-dependent belt.
• Water Competition: Expanded irrigation has made paddy cultivation more feasible, encouraging farmers to replace cotton with assured-procurement crops.
• Low Returns: Cotton faces high seed, pesticide, and labour costs, while pest-induced yield losses reduce net returns and increase cultivation risk.
• Pest Attacks: Recurrent pink bollworm and whitefly infestations have reduced yields and increased pesticide costs, weakening cotton profitability.
• Acreage Decline: Cotton area across Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan fell from 11.83 to 9.09 lakh ha, a 23.2% contraction, indicating sustained farmer exit.

Consequences of Declining Cotton Production

• Farmer Incomes: Lower production and rising input costs reduce cotton profitability, encouraging farmers to shift toward more remunerative crops.
• Import Dependence: Raw cotton imports rose 80.3%, from 5.62 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 10.13 lakh tonnes in 2025-26.
• Textile Competitiveness: Domestic consumption reached 328 lakh bales against production of 290.91 lakh bales in 2025-26, increasing supply pressures on mills.
• Rural Employment: Declining cotton cultivation affects linked activities including ginning, pressing, transport, and local processing, weakening rural value-chain employment.
• Export Competitiveness: India exported about 18 lakh bales in 2024-25, while cotton exports were valued at US$11.49 billion in FY25, making domestic availability crucial for export-oriented textiles.

Way Forward

• Resilient Technology: Develop pest-resistant, heat-tolerant, and drought-resilient varieties, combining Bt technology with refugia, surveillance, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
• Productivity Enhancement: Implement the ₹5,659-crore Mission for Cotton Productivity through HDPS, precision farming, improved seeds, and stronger extension services.
• Water-Smart Farming: Expand drip irrigation, soil-moisture conservation, and watershed management, especially across India’s 62% rain-fed cotton area.
• Better Returns: Strengthen MSP procurement, digital markets, and quality improvement through Kasturi Cotton Bharat to improve price realisation.
• Value-Chain Integration: Strengthen the Farm-to-Foreign cotton-textile chain through ginning, spinning, garments, technical textiles, and higher-value exports.

“Cotton is the fabric of India’s rural prosperity”; resilient technology, higher productivity, and integrated value chains can revive India’s cotton economy.

Reference: The Indian Express

PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 815

Q. Despite being the world’s largest cotton-growing country, India is witnessing declining cotton production and a shrinking traditional cotton belt. Critically analyse the reasons for this paradox and evaluate the effectiveness of recent government initiatives in promoting sustainable cotton production. (250 Words) (15 Marks)

Approach

• Introduction: Write a contextual introduction about the declining cotton production in India.
• Body: Write the reasons for witnessing declining cotton production and a shrinking traditional cotton belt, and evaluate the effectiveness of recent government initiatives in promoting sustainable cotton production with a way forward.
• Conclusion: Focus on climate-resilient cultivation, productivity enhancement, farmer profitability, and integrated value chains to sustainably revive India’s cotton sector.