FAISALABAD, Oct 07 (APP):The cotton production has shrunk by more than 60 per cent, from 14.81 million bales to 5.65 million bales, in the country during the last decade.
This was claimed by Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, vice chancellor, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF).
Addressing a webinar, held to mark the world cotton day, he said that cotton was once considered the lifeline of the country’s farmers and a source of raw material to textile companies. But its production has hit all-time low lately.
Pakistan’s position in cotton production has shifted from fourth to fifth in cotton producing countries of the world, he added. He said that poor pest management, shift in cotton area to other crops, climate variability, early sowing, poor quality BT cotton seed, traditional methods of spraying and gap between farmers and extension staff have been realised as the possible reasons behind cotton yield reduction despite the introduction of genetically modified varieties.
He said that a plan to revive cotton production has been developed by the UAF to improve the pest management, combination of whitefly control strategy and updating the curriculum of universities in connection with current agricultural issues, faced by the farming community.
He said that due to government interventions, 8.46 million bales of cotton production was likely to be achieved during the current season. He said that cotton production in the province was expected to touch 4.5m bales with an increase of 8.5 per cent compared with the last year production.
He said that year 2020 witnessed 398.6 mm rainfall which caused devastating impact on cotton, whereas this year the rainfall was 78.6mm, which improved the prospect of overall production. He said that the government had set an intervention price of Rs 5,000 per 40kg, which encouraged grower to invest in crop management.
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