Target of 15m cotton bales to be achieved, says minister

MULTAN: Federal Minister for Food Security and Research Sahibzada Mehmood Sultan said Friday the incumbent government was paying special attention to the agriculture sector, especially cotton crop.

The minister expressed these views while chairing the 87th meeting of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) at Central Cotton Research Institute here. He said that agriculture was a backbone of economy, which played a vital role in progress and prosperity of the country, adding that the target of 15 million cotton bales, set for the current year, would be achieved.

He said that the agriculture budget was Rs 38 billion before devolution of power to provinces, but now it was cut down to about Rs 15 billion. He criticised the previous governments for ignoring the agriculture sector.