Cotton stalks throw open new income stream for farmers

The earning prospects of domestic cotton growers seem to be strong with the annual generation of about 16 million (160 lakh) tonne of cotton stalks, produced from 8.2 million hectare, under cotton cultivation.

After selling cotton, the growers can utilise the cotton stalks in a better way. Using new technologies the stalks can be made into particle board, which has been proved almost equivalent to those made from wood. The biomass left in the field after picking up seed cotton is called cotton stalk.

A farmer can get at least three tonne of stalks per hectare but the hybrids yield more. The stalk yields are more under irrigated conditions than in rain-fed crop.

Scientists from Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (Circot) have not only developed technologies for converting stalk into different types of particle boards but also worked out economy of it and the profit for the farmers.

This would also generate self employment, said S Sreenivasan, director, Circot. If the farmer wants to dispose stalks in the field itself, he can expect a minimum income of Rs 500 per tonne while if the stalks are cleaned and chipped and transported to the mill, it would fetch him upto Rs 1,200, he said.

It is ideal for a farmers' cooperative to establish a small particle board factory with an investment of around Rs 2.5 crore. Sreenivasan said banks such as Nabard and other rural establishments would be inclined to part-finance this endeavour.

Some of the applications of the cotton stalk particle boards include wall paneling, window paneling insert, table top, doors and furniture, false ceiling, roof paneling, partioning, insulating material and industrial and domestic floorings.

At present, marginal farmers in southern India use part of the stalks as domestic fuel and rest is burnt either in the field itself or in a centralised place. A part is also used for baking bricks.

The availability of cotton stalks in Andhra Pradesh is 20.48 lakh tonne, Gujarat (40.94 lakh tonne), Maharashtra (80.33 lakh tonne), and Madhya Pradesh (10.76 lakh tonne) and few more lakh tonne in other states.