Govt to distribute 38,000MT certified cotton seeds

ISLAMABAD: Arrangements have been finalised to ensure supply of 100 percent certified cotton seeds to farmers during the current kharif (summer) season in order to achieve the maximum crop output, an official said.

During the current sowing season, around 38,000 metric tonnes of certified and approved seeds of cotton would be available for growers across the country, the official in the ministry of textile industry told APP.

The total requirement of cotton seeds were recorded at 40,000 metric tonnes for the sowing season of 2017-18, 

The official said all the seed dealers were directed to market cotton seeds as per the standard germination of 75 percent in order to ensure the availability of certified seeds. The seeds dealers were also asked to ensure the quality and quantity of the seeds as there should be no comprise on set standards, he added.

He further said a campaign would be launched for sowing of only certified seed to enhance per acre crop output in the country, he added. During the current kharif season, cotton crop would be cultivated over 3.118 million hectares of land across the country to fulfill the domestic requirements as well as to exports, he added.

This year’s cotton crop production targets, during the season, were fixed at 14.40 million bales as against the production targets of 14.1 million bales a year earlier.

The crop would be cultivated over 2.429 million hectares of land in Punjab, whereas in Sindh it would be sown over 0.650 million hectares of land.

The crop would be cultivated over 0.038 million hectares of land in Balochistan and around 0.001 million hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Cotton production target was set at 10 million bales for Punjab and four million bales for Sindh.

A production target of around 0.038 million cotton bales was fixed for Balochistan and 0.002 million bales for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the current crop sowing season.