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Upbeat with the success of the technology mission in enchancing the cotton production, the Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI) has now expressed concerns over farmers not getting enough remunerative returns to cover the cost of cultivation. ISCI has suggested that the government needs to fix the floor prices for different varieties of cotton on basis of the quality of the fibre. The textile industry should plan their long-term needs and come out as a consortium to charter cotton production of different fibre grades under a broad price range which should be announced ahead of the season. These issues surfaced in a national dialogue on resurgence of cotton convened jointly by ISCI and the global agency ISAAA in Mumbai on Saturday. The Mumbai discussion was the culmination of Bt cotton field visits in different parts of the country by scientists from Iran, Turkmenistan, Syria and Kazhakistan organised by INCANA and the seed company Mahyco. These countries do not grow cotton hybrids or Bt cotton. But Turkmenistan and Kazhakistan grow cotton having longer staples than that of India cotton. Releasing a documentary film, ISAAA claimed the success of Bt cotton in India with an increased coverage of 1.4 m ha in 2005-06. The film produced under the leadership of ISAAA national coordinator, Bhagirath Choudhary also expressed concerns over high prices of Bt cotton seeds. Accepting the projected output figures of the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), ISCI report said that cotton production in 2005-06 is likely to be at 25.21 million bales of 170 kg each as against 24.751 million bales. However the first advance estimate of the union agriculture ministry says that despite the increase in area under cotton, its output is likely to decline to 15 million bales in 2005-06 from 17 odd million bales in the previous year. The agriculture secretary, Ms Radha Singh had reportedly said that decline in cotton output was due to adverse weather conditions. Comparatively the network of over 20 NGOs alleged failure of Bt cotton due to incidence of pests and diseases. However Bt cotton alone may not be a solution, experts said. Despite carryover stocks, Indian industry has to imports long and extra long staple varieties with higher micronaire value from US and Egypt as these varieties are not grown expect in a limited area around Salem in Tamil Nadu.

Source:http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=109901 Financial Expressmore