Punjab hits 60% cotton sowing target

Cotton cultivation in Punjab has reached 2.116 million acres during the current Kharif season (2025-26), up from 1.806 million acres during the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

The province has set a target to cultivate cotton over 3.5 million acres this season, compared to a target of 3.221 million acres in the previous year. A ministry official told APP on Monday that approximately 60% of this year's sowing target has already been achieved. Efforts are underway to further promote cotton cultivation through the provision of key agricultural inputs such as certified seeds, pesticides, and fertilisers, the official added.

In north Punjab, including areas such as Sargodha, Faisalabad, Lahore and Sahiwal, the sowing target for the season was set at 400,000 acres, compared to 317,000 acres last year. So far, 218,000 acres have been cultivated, up from 184,000 acres during the corresponding period in 2024.

A notable upward trend has also been recorded in south Punjab districts such as Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur, where sowing targets have been met by 61%. Cultivation in these areas has so far covered 1.898 million acres, an increase from 1.622 million acres in the same period of last year. The official noted that the government is actively working to build the capacity of local farmers and improve crop management techniques in order to maximise yield.

It is worth noting that the federal government has set a national cotton cultivation target of 2.2 million hectares for the 2025-26 season. The overall production target has been fixed at 10.18 million bales.