KASTOORI COTTON
WHY IN NEWS?
- Union Minister for Textiles unveiled a brand and a logo for Indian cotton recently on the occasion of 2nd World Cotton Day on 7th October 2020.
- The branding, Kasturi Cotton, would initially be applicable to long-staple cotton that is grown in India and meets prescribed standards.
- WORLD COTTON DAY
- Theme for World Cotton Day, 2020: Cotton: The Fibre that Moves Me
- Launched: By World Trade Organisation in 2019 on the initiative of Cotton-4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali).
- In Collaboration with: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
COTTON
- Kharif Crop which requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
- Drought – resistant crop ideal for arid climates.
- Occupies 2.1% of the world’s arable land, meets 27% of the world’s textiles need.
- Temperature: Between 21-30°C.
- Rainfall: Around 50-100cm.
- Soil Type: Well-drained black cotton soil (Regur Soil) (E.g. Soil of Deccan Plateau)
- Products: fibre, oil and animal feed.
- Top Cotton Producing Countries: China > India > USA
- Top Cotton Producing States in India: Gujarat > Maharashtra > Telangana > Andhra Pradesh > Rajasthan.
- Hybrid Cotton: Cotton made by crossing two parent strains that have different genetic characters. Hybrids are often spontaneously and randomly created in nature when open-pollinated plants naturally cross-pollinate with other related varieties.
- Bt Cotton: It is a genetically modified organism or genetically modified pest-resistant variety of cotton.
COTTON IN INDIA:
- Cotton is an important fibre and cash crop which plays a dominant role in the industrial and agricultural economy of India.
- India is the largest producer of cotton in the world and the third largest exporter. It is also the largest consumer of cotton in the world.
- The pest-resistant Genetically Modified (GM) Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market (covering over 95% of the area under cotton) since their introduction in 2002.
- India produces about 6 million tons of cotton every year which is about 23% of the world cotton.
- India produces about 51% of the total organic cotton production of the world.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES FOR COTTON PRODUCTION
- National Food Security Mission-Commercial Crops (NFSM-CC):
o In the 12th Five Year Plan, under the NFSM, a cropping system approach is being adopted by including commercial crops like cotton, jute and sugarcane.
o Cotton Development Programme (CDP), launched in 2014-15 is being implemented under NFSM-CC for enhancing production and productivity.
- Ministry of Textiles in collaboration with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has prescribed a certification system for organic Cotton
- Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has developed a mobile application called “Cott-Ally” to provide the latest news on weather conditions, the crop situation and best farm practices.
- CCI has also opened 430 procurement centres in all cotton-growing states and payments are being made digitally to farmers’ accounts within 72 hours.