Nearly 50 percent of the total cotton farmers in Gujarat and Maharashtra have been badly affected in the last five years due to climate change.
A report states that climate change has adversely affected the environment. So, 50 per cent of the crops of cotton farmers in Gujarat and Maharashtra have been completely or largely destroyed due to events like floods and drought in the last five years. A special survey was conducted by UK-based think tank International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI). In which the above shocking information came to light. The survey revealed that 50 percent of the 360 farmers surveyed said they had faced prolonged drought. In addition they faced high average temperatures and long days of intense heat.
The survey was conducted in September 2023. In which cotton farmers from Surendranagar in Gujarat and Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra were included. Many farmers included in this survey were land owners. Whereas most of the farmers were those who had less than ten acres of land. It is noteworthy that India is the largest producer of cotton in the world. India produced 5.84 million metric tons of cotton in the year 2023. Which is one-third of the world’s total cotton production. It was sown on 13 million hectares and about 60 lakh earthlings were engaged in cotton cultivation. Additionally, it was also discovered that due to climate change, periods of more intense heat have to be experienced more frequently. In such a situation, there was a serious threat to the livelihood of small farmers. Especially women farmers, who depend on cotton cultivation for their livelihood. This situation is also dangerous for the global textile supply chain.