Economics of Cotton Farming

Cotton is the oldest among all fibres, and one of the most important commercial crops playing a key role in the world economy. It is the single most important textile fibre in the world accounting for over 40 per cent of the total world fibre production. The United States, China and India together account for over half the world¿s cotton production. Raw cotton is an important foreign exchange earner for many countries. Being a commercial crop, cotton is so remunerative that it is being grown by farmers even in agro-climatic zones not suitable for cotton cultivation. This scenario has undergone a change during the recent years. Due to heavy borrowing, over investment on inputs and crop failure, the cotton growers were put to severe and unbearable hardships, leading to suicides in Andhra Pradesh and Guntur District is no exception. Hence, it is felt desirable to probe into the economic aspects of cotton farming in Guntur District which has a large potential hitherto and the present study is an attempt in this direction.