Competing crops push cotton out as govt misses sowing target

LAHORE: The government has failed to set a target for cotton sowing before the start of the season, with competing crops gradually nudging the silver fiber out, industry officials said.

As a result, policymakers are virtually groping in the dark about the potential area under cultivation. This is the first time that cotton sowing and production targets could not be fixed before the start of the Kharif season and are delayed at least until May 1, 2023.

One of the key reasons for the delay has been the less receptive and slow thinking process being followed by policymakers. It resulted in a belated meeting on fixing targets of Kharif crops two weeks into the Kharif season.

The meeting of the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) was delayed until April 12, 2023, due to reasons better known to authorities, which should have been held well before the start of the sowing season.

Last year, the FCA meeting was held on March 31, and stakeholders were able to fix cotton plantation and output targets after due consultation. Differences over the targeted area under cultivation have also been a bone of contention among stakeholders. It is learned that Punjab refused to set a higher area target for cotton, citing ground realities lacking favor to silver fiber cultivation.

During the discussion at the FCA meeting, Punjab was forced to fix a cotton sowing target at 5.0 million acres for crop 2023-24. However, Punjab argued that competing crops like sugarcane, corn, rice, and now oilseed and pulses have squeezed cotton area to a great extent.

Hence, only 4.0 million acres of area could be set as the cultivation target, and the province may be able to reach 3.5 million acres by the end of the sowing season in late May or early June.

Historically, cotton area in Punjab has shrunk to 3.0 million acres due to multiple reasons, an official said. Keeping in view the lack of consensus, the Federal Secretary National Food Security & Research directed the Cotton Commissioner to finalize the area and production targets of cotton in consultation with provinces within two weeks, i.e., by May 1, 2023.

The Federal Secretary for MNFS&R emphasized the need to retrieve the area of cotton crop as it is the most important crop for our own industry as well as to earn foreign exchange. He also emphasized the need for research and development as well as better coordination to consolidate the gains and ensure further progress of the sector.

The chair directed representatives of provinces to focus on enhancing the production of pulses and oilseed by bringing culturable waste and fallow land under cultivation. Strategic crops, i.e., wheat and cotton, should not be used for these purposes by competitive crops.

The chair also reviewed the availability of cotton seed, which stood at 28 thousand tons (provisional). It may be noted that Pakistan's cotton production nosedived to a 37-year low last season due to various factors. According to an assessment, the 2022-23 cotton crop was badly hit by last year's floods too.

Total ginners' purchase was about 35 percent lower compared to the previous year. In Sindh, almost all cotton-producing districts produced less, while the highest producing districts in Punjab, such as Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, and Bahawalnagar, experienced significant damage due to high rainfall.

Nonetheless, the year 2023-24 presents a dismal picture for cotton sowing, despite the early enthusiasm shown by farmers, mainly due to higher prices. Despite the fact that the federal government timely announced the cotton intervention price of Rs 8500 per 40kg, he overall sorry state of affairs may adversely affect prospects of harvesting a good crop especially if compared with the domestic demand.