Agriculture dept striving to achieve cotton sowing target

Zero tolerance policy against the sale of fake pesticides

MULTAN: Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Mahmood has said that cotton growing has been started in the province and the department was striving hard to achieve a target of cotton sowing on an area of six million acres.

He said this during a meeting of cotton crop management unit. Additional Agriculture Secretary Fatima Benish Sahi, Prof Dr Asif Ali, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Agriculture University Multan Vice-Chancellor Abid Mahmood, Agriculture Director General (Research) Dr Sageer Ahmad and others were present.

On the occasion, he advised cotton growers to sow cotton seed of approved varieties. He added that due to hard work and fruitful initiatives of the department, cotton production increased up to 14% during the financial year 2017-18 as compared to 2015-16.

Mahmood maintained, “The department is acting on zero -tolerance policy about sale of fake pesticides and fertilisers.”

He pointed out that cotton bumper crop during the current financial year was the top priority of the government because the whole economy depended on its high production.

He said the provincial government was also devising '2025 Cotton Mission' plan. “For immediate relief to cotton growers, the government is providing approved varieties of cotton seed up to 50% subsidised rate and also providing subsidy voucher of Rs700 per cotton bag to core area of cotton growers.”

He said in a bid to achieve high yield cotton seed production, Rs350.889 million was being spent on 'Commissioned Research Programme'.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2018.