To date, Punjab has finished planting paddy and other Kharif crops, including cotton, on over 19 lakh hectares.
To date, Punjab has finished planting paddy and other Kharif crops, including cotton, on over 19 lakh hectares. This year, the state planned to plant cotton, basmati rice, and maize on 3.25 lakh, 5.37 lakh, and 1.50 lakh hectares, respectively. Even if this objective is met, an estimated 30-31 lakh hectares of land would remain under rice production.
Cotton is grown in 8 of Punjab’s 23 districts. Fazilka has planted the most cotton (95,913 hectares) among the eight cotton-growing districts, compared to 86,096 hectares (according to the Punjab revenue land record department) previous year. Cotton cultivation has risen from 28,000 hectares to 40,000 hectares in Muktsar in a year.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Punjab had approximately 7.50 lakh hectares of cotton planted. Cotton acreage has remained below 3 lakh hectares for the previous five years following the white fly assault. According to an official, the government has no clear plans to provide farmers with diversification assistance.
