Growth of Cotton Production is Vital to Country's Employment Growth: Tomar

Today, in the presence of Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, and Darshana V. Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles & Railways, an interactive meeting with stakeholders of the Cotton Textile Value Chain on improving cotton productivity and branding of Indian Cotton was held at Vanijya Bhawan

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, and Food and Public Distribution, stated that it is time for India to adopt global cotton productivity standards. He also stated that all stakeholders must share best practices for increasing cotton productivity in India in order to increase farmer incomes.

Speaking on the occasion, Goyal stated that the private sector must contribute to increasing productivity research, farmer education, and branding, to which the government will match. Goyal asserted that the private sector must act in a Mission mode to strengthen the Cotton Value Chain.

He went on to say that we need to brand our own high-quality cotton with an equal contribution from the industry. Action to reduce contamination issues such as coloured HDPE. Within one week, the industry will develop a master plan. Cotton, according to Goyal, serves as a link between agriculture and the textile industry. Cotton-based products account for a sizable portion of total Textiles and Apparel products, both domestically and internationally. With market access expanding through FTAs, it is critical that we work together to improve both productivity and quality.

According to Goyal, we need to reclaim our dominance in the global cotton industry, and India sees textiles as a key sector that will help us build an "Aatmanirbhar Bharat." He also stated that the Centre is working on the Prime Minister's "5F" vision: "Farm to Fibre; Fibre to Factory; Factory to Fashion; Fashion to Foreign."

It should be noted that the textile sector has made significant strides, from RoSCTL to RoDTEP and NTTM to PM Mitra, to increase cotton and textile production in India. Textile duty-free access agreements with Australia and the UAE have given the trade a boost, and similar agreements with the EU, the United Kingdom, and Canada are being negotiated.

According to Goyal, it is critical to increase yield and profit margins for our cotton farmers by raising awareness about proper seed selection and encouraging farmers to use modern technology and progressive agricultural practices. He expects replication to achieve better results across the board, citing examples of good work done by some FPOs, CITI CDRA, and others.

Narendra Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, stated at the meeting that increasing cotton production and productivity is critical to the country's employment growth. He stated that short-term and long-term strategies for increasing productivity are required. According to Tomar, high-density farming and micro-irrigation are critical to increasing cotton productivity in large parts of the country.

Core issues pertaining to the cotton value chain were discussed in depth at the level of Union Ministers of Agriculture and Textiles, with outcome-oriented targets assigned to industry captains and government functionaries alike.

Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary Textiles Vijay Kumar Singh, Special Secretary, Senior Officials from the Union Ministries of Textiles, Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Commerce, Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Officials from the Research and Development sector, Senior Officials from Corporations, farmers, seed industry, and stakeholders were in attendance. The entire textile value chain was represented in the consultations by the meeting's lead associations and experts.