A phenomenological inquiry into farmers' experiences growing cotton in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Sustainability in cotton production is inevitable because producing more cotton means more employment, economic acceleration, and industrial expansion. India, China, the United States, Brazil, and Pakistan contribute 74% of worldwide cotton production. Pakistan is contributing only 5%, despite the high potential of cotton. The average yield of cotton in Pakistan is stagnant at 570.99 kg hm^-2, whereas it entails the highest cost of production among all other crops. The yield obtained in Pakistan is less than the potential, profitability is drastically lessening, and farmers are abandoning cotton for alternative kharif crops. Some traditional quantitative studies have unveiled different factors that affect cotton production. However, an in-depth qualitative study has never been conducted in Pakistan to explore the root causes of growing cotton crop failure. Following Moustakas's traditional phenomenological guidelines, this phenomenological study was conducted in the district of Rahim Yar Khan in the core cotton zone of Punjab province. A total of 10 interviews were conducted with purposively selected cotton growers based on a criterion: (i) having more than 10 years of cotton growing experience, (ii) being a cotton grower, and (iii) having at least 10 years of formal schooling. Interviews were conducted face to face on an interview guide. One interview lasted 45-50 min, and responses were recorded and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. A total of 6 themes emerged from the collected data, including (i) climate change, (ii) varietal problems, (iii) pesticide usage, (iv) sense of institutional services, (v) attitude of farmers and (vi) soil health and environment. These six merging themes contributed to cotton crop failure and yield decline. The deep exploration further summarized that researchers, extensionists, and farmers need to seriously consider variety, sowing time, and the environment to revive cotton crops. The detailed recommendations and policy guidelines are presented in this paper, highlighting the cotton sector's research, development and investment areas.

Keywords: Attitude; Climate change; Fertilizers; Lived experiences; Pesticides; Pink Boll Worm; Variety; Whitefly.

Figure 1

The area under cultivation of major crops from 2010 to 2023. This shows that other Kharif crops like Sugarcane, Rice, and Maize compete with cotton. As a result, the area under cotton cultivation is gradually decreasing, and the area of crops, significantly and sugarcane, is increasing at the expense of cotton. In thirteen years, the sugarcane area reached 1319 000 hectares from 988 000 Hectares, whereas the area of Maize increased from 974 to 1720 000 Hectares. This is a notion that cotton has become less profitable and competitive than kharif crops like sugarcane and maize. Source: Economic Surveys of Pakistan, 2023.

Figure 2

Map of study area, Pakistan, Punjab province and District.

Figure 3

Area of cotton and Sugarcane from 1990 to 2023. Source.