Environmental Implications of Contract Farming: The Case of Cotton Cultivation in Odisha

Abstract

The agribusiness firms started promoting high value crops like cotton that need more chemicals which has both direct and indirect impacts on environment as well as on economy. The present paper examines the problems and benefits of contract farming in cotton and paddy cultivation in Odisha with special reference to analyse the environmental impact of contract farming i.e. on ground water and land quality. The paper also examine the impact of contract farming on use of ground water and land quality in Odisha, whereas, the water scarcity becomes a major constraint for non-contract farmers in cotton cultivation. In contract farming system, sometimes the production declines due to the company or the contract agency tries to shift their production relation to other farmers as well as to other regions. On the other hand, there is an excess use of agrochemicals for the contract crop compared to non-contract crop which raises the question of sustainability.