Efficiency in Cotton Production Across the States in India

Background: Cotton is one of the oldest crops in the world. About 60 million people are directly engaged in cotton textiles and processing works. Cotton is an important cash crop. In some places, it is called “white gold” because it brings in foreign exchange. India is one of the top cotton producers and exporters in the world. 85% of the world’s cotton is cultivated in ten major countries, including India, which is the second-largest producer. India has a competitive advantage in the production of cotton. The study’s objective is to find out the relative yield efficiency between the states of India in cotton farming. Methods: The Secondary data of cotton production is collected from the website of INDIASTAT. The ANOVA is used to calculate the relative yield efficiency of cotton. Result: The paper’s result is calculated using SPSS V22 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The result shows that Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Orissa have the highest efficiency in cotton yield, while Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have the lowest efficiency in cotton yield and the rest states have the average yield. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, rainfall was uneven and soil fertility was not good. The dryland of Karnataka played an important role in less productivity of cotton. Punjab, Haryana and Gujrat had better soil fertility which makes it better for cotton yield. Government should take the necessary steps to increase the average yield of cotton by shifting cotton farming from the low-yield region to the high-yield region. The government should promote cotton production where the yield is higher and demote cotton farming where the yield is lower. Government should also promote “better cotton” farming because it is more sustainable and has a higher yield with a lower cost of cultivation.