Punjab determined to achieve cotton production target

LAHORE ; All possible resources are being utilised to achieve the target of 8.2 million bales of cotton, said Secretary Agriculture, Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo on Saturday.

Chairing a departmental meeting, provincial Secretary Agriculture said that till the last picking of cotton, the officers and staff of Agriculture Department will work side by side with the farmers and any kind of negligence to achieve the production target will not be tolerated.

Keeping in view weather conditions, there is a need to be more alert. The farmers are being provided with technical guidance regarding irrigation, nutrition and pest management of cotton.

Secretary Agriculture Punjab further said that due to the sudden increase in temperature whitefly attack in some districts were observed and for the control, with the help of drones, helicopters and power sprayers, quick spraying of agricultural poisons with modern chemistry was performed, which significantly reduced the whitefly attack.

He added that all possible resources are being utilised to achieve the set target of 8.2 million bales of cotton crop. Field formations continue to provide technical guidance to farmers on better care of cotton.

All communication channels are being used to convey the recommendations made on better care of cotton to the farmers. He further said that the cotton arrival record in market should be complete and the records in ginning factories should be checked. Clean cotton picking should be a top priority.

Following otherwise, the quality of cotton is adversely affected and fetches low prices in the world market. Therefore, if precautions are taken initially at the time of picking, storage, delivery and at the level of ginning factories, a pest-free crop will not only increase the profit of the farmers but also earn more foreign exchange from the export of cotton.