The seams are falling apart: why is India’s cotton dream turning sour?

A few days ago, Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, presented a gloomy scenario of the prospects for the crop in the 2024-2025 season, which starts in October. In his address at the association’s annual general meeting, Ganatra said the area under cultivation could decline by at least 10 percent in the coming season due to declining yields and yields, causing farmers to lose interest.

The fears of a reduction in area come against the backdrop of Indian cotton production likely falling to the lowest level in a decade, according to estimates. After 2002, cotton production had increased sharply as a result of

First print: January 11, 2024 | 10:19 PM IST