Consultation process started to boost output

Stakeholders ask government to announce support price

MULTAN: The Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) started consultations with the stakeholders in Punjab and a first meeting was held on Thursday that discussed how to increase the cotton-sowing area, production and improve quality.

The meeting was held at the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) with CCRI Multan Director Dr Zahid Mahmood in the chair.

The stakeholders of the cotton industry including farmers, ginners, seed and pesticide companies pressed the government to announce a support price for the cotton crop well before the commencement of sowing season to attract more farmers to its cultivation.

They suggested that a crackdown should be launched against the companies supplying fake seeds, pesticides and fertilisers. They also called for bringing improvement in the guidelines being provided to the farmers in the light of weather condition and pest attack.

The process of consultation was launched on the instruction of the Ministry of Textile Industry. The recommendations to be framed in meetings of the working groups of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan with the PCCC would be submitted to a committee constituted by the Ministry of Textile Industry.

A comprehensive cotton policy would be formulated for the 2017-18 season in the light of these recommendations.

Director Research and PCCC Chairman Dr Tasawwur Hussain Malik is the chairman of the committee while CCRI Multan Director Dr Zahid Mahmood and In charge of Cotton Research Station DI Khan Zahid Usman are its members.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2017.

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