Maharashtra charts a quality-driven future for cotton

Mumbai: Maharashtra is charting a quality-driven future for cotton by aligning with the global practices.

Maharashtra’s cotton sector took a decisive step toward strengthening its global competitiveness with a high-level workshop on — “Enhancing Cotton Value Chain Development by Focusing on Quality, Productivity, Production, and Market Access” — convened at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Nagpur.

The one-day state-level workshop, jointly organised by Balasaheb Thackeray Agribusiness & Rural Transformation (SMART) Project, Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), Maharashtra Village Social Transformation Foundation (VSTF), Indo Cotton Development Association, Grant Thornton and Palladium Consulting India Pvt. Ltd, brought together government leaders, industry pioneers, farmer producer companies (FPCs), and textile stakeholders to shape a unified roadmap for sustainable cotton value chain advancement in Maharashtra.

“We need to align agronomic practices, contamination control, and market reforms to global benchmarks such as the Kasturi Cotton Bharat initiative—India’s national cotton quality and traceability program,” said Praveen Pardeshi, Chief Economic Advisor to Maharashtra Chief Minister and CEO, MITRA.

Dr. Rajaram Dighe CEO, VSTF, emphasized the need for India to align with global cotton textile standards, focusing not just on quality but on achieving full traceability across the cotton value chain.

Dr. Hemat Vasekar, Project Director, SMART, emphasized the strategic need to move from volume-based cotton production to a quality and value-driven approach.

Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture), highlighted the Government of Maharashtra’s commitment to modernizing the sector through technology adoption, farmer training, and FPO linkages with premium buyers.

As international brands increasingly prioritize sustainable and traceable cotton, Maharashtra’s coordinated value-chain approach—linking FPOs, modern ginning units, and premium buyers—positions the state to capture new export opportunities.

The synergy between Better Cotton, Kasturi Bharat, and BIS certification frameworks is expected to unlock market premiums while reinforcing farmer incomes, the speakers said.