Cotton is one of the most important commercial crops in India, accounting for around 23% of the total global cotton production. However, the recent Pink Bollworm (PBW) attack has become a significant threat, causing extensive devastation to the cotton crop, especially in Northern India. Additional to crop loss, farmers are also likely to shift from cotton to other crops, further straining water resources. To counter this trend, India’s leading textile company Sportking India collaborated with ATGC Biotech, Reviving Green Revolution Cell and Team Athena Pvt. Ltd. to launch an initiative, ‘San-Vardhan’ (Cotton You Can Trust) in Punjab and Haryana. Under this initiative, ATGC Biotech launched a technology called the CREMIT (Controlled Release Enhanced Mating Interruption Technology) which enables eco-friendly population control by implementing ‘Insect Family Planning’ as a sustainable alternative to traditional insecticides, thus reducing insecticide usage on the crop and soil, thereby ensuring better PBW control.
San Vardhan is a holistic approach to tackle the PBW issue, including package of practices of agronomy, nutrients, etc. It will also enable traceability of the produce. This is currently being implemented across 2,000 acres in three districts of Punjab and Haryana with about 500+ cotton farmers being trained on Integrated Nutrient Management (INM). The CREMIT technology’s efficacy is supported by several peer-reviewed publications including by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)-Ludhiana, CICR-Nagpur, JAU-Gujarat, ANGRAU-Guntur, and MPCKV-Rahuri.
According to Munish Avasthi, Managing Director, Sportking India Limited, “The reduction of cotton output is a big loss to smallholder cotton farmers, ginners, yarn manufacturers, cotton fabrics and the entire value chain. PBW is becoming a costly pest for cotton farmers threatening income and livelihood, disrupting cotton supply. We are extremely happy to fund the CSR project “San-Vardhan” (Cotton You Can Trust) with CREMIT technology to help address the PBW and support North India cotton farmers.”
The biggest causes of productivity loss in cotton are disease, weeds and unprecedented climatic conditions. Hence, there is an urgent need to improve the techniques of producing and improving cotton productivity in India. There are many options available for farmers towards improving cotton. Interventions through precision farming, regenerative and sustainable agriculture practices and targeted solutions can help farmers with new practices. Expert advisory services to address region-specific / localized issues and promoting eco-friendly inputs is another option. New-age tools like AI-powered predictive analytics, crop forecasting to enhance yields and reduce losses can also help farmers greatly. Many digital platforms and mobile apps also facilitate access to market information, best practices and training resources/modules as well.
According to Dr. Baljinder Saini, Executive Director, Reviving Green Revolution Cell (RGR Cell), the implementing partner for this project, “Innovations in farming along with the adoption of good agronomic practices by farmers can help increase agricultural productivity in cotton farming. I am extremely happy that the textile industry is coming forward to help the cotton farmers and hope to see similar initiatives being launched in Central and South India cotton growing areas.”
The learnings from the North India project as well as a scientific approach in agronomic practices, application of nutrients and other agri inputs, is imperative for attaining better productivity and income enhancement for farmers. Leading Textile organizations can launch similar projects in Central and South India to help cotton farmers increase productivity, improve quality, and reduce costs thereby enabling inclusive growth for farmers, making substantive contributions in meeting domestic consumer and industry needs – in short, making cotton farming more sustainable.
