Cotton sowing claims questioned

Farmers rubbish fabricated reports, call for R&D as only 350,000 acres sown

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KARACHI:

Doing away with fabricated reports and misleading campaigns, growers and agriculturalists have said conducting research and development (R&D) can take the cotton sector out of its existing crisis and help curb falling exports and rising imports as the early cotton cultivation phase has been successfully completed.

While the Punjab Agriculture Department maintains that the province is on track to achieve its early cotton sowing target of one million acres within the next two to three days, ground realities appear to tell a different story. Independent sources report that, as of now, early cotton cultivation has only been completed on approximately 350,000 acres across Punjab. This substantial gap raises serious questions about the accuracy of the official figures and whether they truly reflect the situation on the ground.

Agricultural experts said the slow pace of sowing is largely due to persistent challenges faced by farmers, including water shortages, soaring input costs - particularly seeds and fertilisers - and erratic weather conditions. If these issues remain unaddressed, there is a growing concern that the overall cotton yield for the season may fall short of expectations, potentially dealing a major blow to both the national economy and the country's vital textile industry.

When it comes to early cotton cultivation in Sindh, it spreads around 600,000 acres.

The federal government is going to set an overall cotton sowing target of 5 million acres in the country including 3.2 million acres in Punjab, 1.6 million acres in Sindh and 200,000 acres in Balochistan. While the government prepares to set the target of 10.5 million bales of cotton for the 2025-2026 season, the overall requirement of textile mills stands around 12 million bales. The country usually calls for around 1 million bales of extra-long staple (ELS) - a high-quality cotton. The textile mills of the country export $16 billion. Moreover, Bangladesh imports 8 million bales and exports $50 billion.

Speaking about the last 2024-2025 cotton season, Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum Chairman Naseem Usman said Punjab and Sindh growers sowed 3.4 million acres and 1.6 million acres respectively and Punjab procured around 2.5 million bales of cotton while Sindh got 2.7 million bales. He said vast areas of cotton cultivation were witnessed in Punjab in comparison with Sindh, but seed quality, lack of new seed varieties and climate change following sweltering heat hampered cotton growth and production in Punjab. He called for research on new and climate-resilient seed varieties so that cotton production may be enhanced.

He said Sindh growers have been clamouring against acute shortage of water for days, adding that this will definitely take a heavy toll on the early cotton cultivation phase in Sindh. He urged the policymakers to take serious notice of the water shortage of Sindh immediately and focus on R&D of new seeds. What's more, they said, the ongoing campaign against Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) Vice President Dr Yusuf Zafar is unfounded and misleading, designed to distort facts in pursuit of a specific agenda.

The allegations levelled against him originate and emanate from a vested lobby engaged in an internal power struggle for the chairmanship of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC). The Ministry of Agriculture had considered assigning him additional charge as PARC chairman, which triggered a coordinated propaganda campaign against him. They claim this is a deliberate effort by certain factions to assert control over PARC's leadership.

To achieve this objective, fabricated accusations are being used to undermine his credibility and reputation, they maintain. During his tenure, significant financial reforms were implemented at the PCCC, directly benefiting its employees. After a 36-month delay, all employees received their full salaries and pensions, marking a major institutional achievement. Additionally, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has agreed to clear its outstanding dues in terms of cotton cess payment being delayed for over a decade since 2016, and a formal agreement has finally been drafted and the payment will be ensured in four-quarterly instalments soon.

These initiatives were not only resolving financial constraints, but also ensuring long-term stability for PCCC. Given these developments, the narrative surrounding his removal on performance grounds appears to be a calculated effort driven by ulterior motives, stressed agriculturalists.

Under the rightsizing policy, no PCCC employee will be terminated, and the merger with PARC is set to be completed before the next budget cycle. Zafar's leadership had steered several critical initiatives, which are now being deliberately sabotaged through a misinformation campaign.

At its core, this controversy revolves around the PARC chairmanship dispute, and false narratives are being propagated to manipulate public perception and create space for vested interests. They claimed that those familiar with the facts recognise this as a strategic maneuverer to serve specific personal and political ambitions.

Such fabricated reports and misleading campaigns not only damage Zafar's reputation, but also pose a direct threat to the revival of Pakistan's cotton sector and the PCCC's strategic objectives.

PCCC has successfully organised multiple high-impact conferences dedicated to cotton sector revival, garnering significant stakeholder participation. Furthermore, securing two international projects from Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) and Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) underscores PCCC's strong global standing and commitment to agricultural innovation.

Zafar was recently appointed by the Secretary of National Food Security & Research to lead the Olive Procurement Inquiry Committee. This investigation pertains to procurement exceeding Rs90 million under the olive project, and the inquiry aims to ensure accountability, transparency, and procedural compliance.

Meanwhile, Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said the special campaign for cotton revival is being appreciated at all levels. He said over 3.5 million acres of land in Punjab will be cultivated with cotton this season. To support cotton sowing and production targets, the Punjab chief minister has announced a special incentive package, said Sahoo.