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Sushil Manav
HARYANA’S cotton acreage of 7.38 lakh hectares in Kharif-2020 is not only the highest in the cotton belt of North India, comprising Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, but also the maximum in any year so far for the state. The crop was grown on 7.01 lakh hectares in the state this time. There is a slight decline in productivity (production per hectare), though better prices have compensated farmers for the loss in yield.
“I harvested nearly 30 quintals per hectare of cotton last year, but this time, I could get only 22-23 quintals,” says Gurdial Mehta, a farmer from Panjuana village of Sirsa. He, however, adds that he could sell his crop for Rs 5,900 per quintal this year, far better than Rs 5,390 received last year.