India is the 2nd largest producer and consumer of cotton in the world. Currently, cotton is being grown in 11 major states across India by about 6.5 million farmers and is the predominant feedstock for the Indian textile industry.

The average land holding size of cotton cultivators in India is about 1.26 ha. Besides the regular farmers, of which about 40% are women, a large number of migrant labours are also engaged as farmers with leased land in cotton cultivation in India. Hence this sector is exposed to a number of vulnerabilities.  To address the various vulnerabilities and ensure better institutional support mechanism for the vulnerable segment of cotton growing community, CITI and ILO are going to work with cotton farmers to create more awareness about Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW), with a focus on small and marginal farmers and workers.

This collaboration is aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and providing technical support to implement policies and programmes related to FPRW, enhance access and utilization of social protection schemes/programmes, and empower vulnerable families engaged in cotton cultivation.

 Activities will focus on 5 districts of the Madhya Pradesh, which is a major cotton growing state of organic and ELS cotton.

“For last 54 years, CITI through its extension arm, Cotton Development and Research Association (CDRA), has been working for improving yield and quality of cotton by creating awareness on the best agronomics practices as also equipping farmers with the latest technologies on production, plant protection and nutrient management. Throughout its journey, CITI-CDRA has been able to positively impact cotton productivity, farmer income, soil health and better market linkage.”, said Shri T. Rajkumar, Chairman - CITI Standing Committee on Cotton.

At present CITI-CDRA is operational in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and is also an important extension partner in the Pilot Project on Cotton, which is a joint effort of Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Textiles to enhance the cotton yield through various improved agronomics practices and technological interventions such as HDPS, closer spacing etc.

“CITI-CDRA recognizes that trainings on rights of farmers, better access to finance, better communication, agronomic practices are integral part of training of farmers and hence entered into collaboration with ILO for the holistic development of the cotton growing community.”, said Rakesh Mehra, Chairman – CITI.