Government Polytechnic, Ethiopian delegates meet on cotton

Government Polytechnic, Nagpur recently organised an industry-institute-interaction meet on “Cotton growth and development in Vidarbha region” with the delegates from Ethiopian textile industry. The meet was organised to interact and share experience on cotton developments in Vidarbha region. Local experts from the field of cotton farming/cultivation, cotton testing, cotton grading, cotton marketing, organic cotton, textile machines, academicians, textile technologists and cotton seed manufacturers participated in the discussions.

The delegation from Ethiopia included eight top officials – Asfawesen Alene Director General and Endris Negus, Deputy Director General, Ethiopian Industry Input Development Enterprise; Yared Mesfin, Deputy Director General and Yitbarek Abebe Director, Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute; Haddish Girmay VP and Asefa Aga, GM, Cotton Producers, Ginners and Exporters Association Ethiopia; Getachew Muliye, Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Shibru Berga, Advisor Ministry of Industry. This delegation is on a study tour of India to get information on cotton growth and development in cotton textiles.

The meet started with welcome to all the invitees and delegates at the hands of Dr CS Thorat, Principal of the institute. Dr Thorat, in his address, gave detailed information and progress report of the autonomous institute. He said that the institute had received a good opportunity to welcome the Ethiopian delegates.

Prof Deepak Kulkarni, Head Textile Manufacture and Coordinator of the programme, in his introductory remarks presented a brief profile of the Department of Textile Manufactures, which runs a diploma in textile manufacture of three years duration. He said that objective of organising the meet was to bring experts in the field of cotton growth and development on one platform. Vidarbha having a strong agriculture base, has attracted number of diverse industries ranging from food processing, textiles, power engineering, logistics, etc. till date. Vidarbha could be the next emerging zone for textile operations. The cotton growth and development has seen a significant progress in last few years in the region, he added.

Explaining the concept of the meet, Shrikant Gadge, local textile consultant, said that Vidarbha is amongst the maximum cotton growing region in India contributing to 30 per cent of the crop in India. Maharashtra has sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore recently for the region for farm-to-fashion project. The State has also attracted huge investment in the textile sector during last 4-5 years. Cotton-related SMEs would be promoted in the region. “In the new textile policy of Maharashtra, more focus is on development of Vidarbha region in textile sector,” he added.

Prof Kulkarni initiated the discussion by inviting local textile experts to share policies and strategies followed for cotton procurement and marketing. The interactions on various issues raised by Ethiopian delegates such as cotton cultivation, ginning process, development of cotton seeds and varieties of cotton. Cotton grading, garment sector, processing of cotton and blends with polyester and other fibres, organic farming methods and cotton testing. Experts prominently present in the meet included RN Yadav, President, RSR Mohota Spinning and Weaving Mills, Hinghanghat, Wardha; Dr SM Yeole, Advisor, Ankur Seeds Pvt Ltd, Nagpur; Datta Patil, Director General, Yuwa Rural Association, Nagpur, Govind Vairale, Project Coordinator, CITI-CDRA; Laxmikant Padole, Director, Neem Foundation Research and Technology Development Centre (NRTDC), Gondkhairi, Nagpur; Prof Sandip Soni, Senior Faculty, Department of Textile Engineering, Jawaharlal Darda Institute of Engineering & Technology, Yavatmal; Shrikant Gadge,Textile Consultant, Nagpur; JP Mahajan, GM, Maharashtra State Cooperative Cotton Grower’s Marketing Federation Ltd; Debashish Ghosh, Ex President, Nagpur Garment Manufacturers Association; Rahul Bhatalwad, Director, CIS Laboratories; RK Mishra, Director, D R Agencies Nagpur; and Dr Hemant Sonare, Secretary, The Textile Association (India) Vidarbha unit, Nagpur.

Dr Thorat, in his concluding remarks, requested Ethiopian delegation to involve Government Polytechnic, Nagpur in future to act as a nodal agency.