Maharashtra launches World Bank-sponsored cotton development project

The Maharashtra Government has launched Smart Cotton, a World Bank-sponsored project, to help farmers in the state grow quality cotton by inculcating best practices right at their farms.

Jayesh Mahajan, Senior Official, Maharashtra Cooperative Cotton Growers Federation, points out, per hectare yield of cotton in Maharashtra is between 8-9 quintals as compared to the 14-15 quintals/hectare yields nationally. Worldwide, cotton growers see much higher yields of 24-25 quintal/hectare, with US farmers reporting 55 quintal/hectares.

As per Indian Express, the Smart Cotton projectaims to transform the complete value chain to help Indian cotton command a premium price in the world market, he adds.

In the next five years, the project aims to see Maharashtra produce 10 lakh bales (each bale with 170 kg pressed ginned cotton) of branded cotton from these village clusters. The bales would be branded by the government of Maharashtra, which will act as a third party auditor.

The project will have an extensive technology arm with block-chain traceability being the backbone of the same. Mahajan hopes that the technological aspect will provide complete backward traceability of cotton.00