Pink Bollworm Menace : Rajasthan govt gives Rs 1,125 cr relief package to cotton farmers

The cotton crop in Rajasthan has suffered a lot due to the terrible outbreak of pink bollworm. In major cotton producing districts of Sriganganagar, Hanumagarh and Anupgarh 90 per cent of the crop has been destroyed at certain places. Farmers had been protesting in these districts for a long time demanding compensation to compensate for the losses. Accepting the demand of farmers, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has made a provision for a relief package of Rs 1,125 crore.

Giving this information to Rural Voice, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rajasthan unit President Raja Ram Meel said, “Representatives of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on October 8 demanding compensation. Accepting the demands of the farmers, he decided to give a relief package and made a provision of Rs 1125 crore. Girdawari is currently going on to assess the damage. After its completion, the amount to compensate for the loss per acre will be decided.”

Swaraj India founder and farmer leader Yogendra Yadav has also given this information in a post with pictures on social media platform X. Yogendra Yadav was also included among the representatives of SKM.

Yogendra Yadav has written in his post, “The cotton crop in Rajasthan was completely destroyed due to rain and pink bollworm. The farmer was in bad shape and troubled. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot regarding this issue and demanded a relief package. Ashok Gehlot ji released a relief package of Rs 1125 crore. Thanks on behalf of the farmers.”

Welcoming the government's decision, Bhagirath Choudhary, founder of the Jodhpur-based South Asia Biotechnology Centre, told Rural Voice, "For quite some time, we have been trying to draw the attention of the state government towards this through various mediums and the losses suffered by the farmers were demanding compensation. I welcome the decision taken by the Gehlot government to release a relief package for farmers, albeit late. Farmers were in dire need of this.”

Pink bollworm is a very deadly insect which eats cotton seeds and destroys the fiber of the plant. Due to this the quality of cotton deteriorates and the yield decreases. For the first time, such a terrible outbreak of pink bollworm has been seen in Rajasthan. By the time the farmers came to know about this and became aware, their crops had been damaged.

Bhagirath Chaudhary said that at present cotton is cultivated in about 8 lakh hectares in Rajasthan. Of these, about 4 lakh hectare area is in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh and Anupgarh where the incidence of pink bollworm is highest. 

Apart from Rajasthan, 50-70 per cent of the crop has been destroyed due to pink bollworm in major cotton producing districts of Haryana and Punjab. Due to this, there is a possibility of production decreasing this year.

In a related development, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) said that cotton exports are estimated to decline 64 per cent in 2022-23 marketing year ended September due to higher prices of the commodity in the domestic market. The cotton marketing year begins from October. Cotton export during 2021-22 marketing year was 43 lakh bales which fell to 15.50 lakh bales in 2022-23, the CAI said.