‘Cotton-producing south Punjab, north Sindh districts among the poorest’

FAISALABAD: Australian cotton expert Dr Neil William Forrester has said that inadequate seed provision system, cotton diseases (especially CLCV), pests, weeds and water issues are causing cotton loss of 10-15 million bales in Pakistan every year.

Addressing a lecture on cotton crisis in Pakistan and future pathway at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad here on Monday, he said that cotton production had declined 44 per cent in Punjab and 5 per cent in Sindh while overall Pakistan production had gone down by 34 per cent. He said that Pakistan had already imported 2.2m bales due to last season’s production shortfall – worth $434m from July to Dec. He said that the cotton-producing districts of south Punjab and north Sindh were among the poorest in Pakistan. He said that the modern seed could raise Pakistan’s cotton output from 10 million bales to 15 million bales per year. He said that the government needed to implement and enforce the Seed Act and the Plant Breeders Rights Act. He called for introducing transgenic herbicide resistant cotton and a strong biotechnology regulatory authority.

National Assembly former speaker Syed Fakhar Imam said that agriculture research budget in the country was negligible that must be enhanced to support the researchers that would help strengthen the sector. He warned that if tangible steps were not taken, the cotton growers would shift to other crops that would further worsen the cotton shortfall next year.

UAF Vice-Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the cotton production had been facing stagnation for the last 20 years, which was the matter of concern. He said that the UAF scientists had developed genotype of cotton PB-896 that was high yielding. Former Agriculture secretary Arif Nadeem, Prof Dr Hafeez Sadaqat and Prof Dr Mirza Aslam also spoke on the occasion.