Cotton is the most important crop of our country. The present government is taking all possible steps to restore the status quo of cotton and reduce the chances of pest infestation on the next crop. These views were expressed by Minister for Agriculture, Punjab Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi while presiding over the first meeting of the Cotton Planning Committee .
Director General Agriculture (Extension) Dr. Anjum Ali briefed the committee about the situation of cotton. On the occasion, Minister also directed the department to ensure the supply of approved varieties of cotton seeds to the farmers for the next cotton crop and take legal action against the fake seed mafia.
Provincial Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi said that breeders are working for the promotion of new varieties of cotton. SOPs should be set up for them so that technically sound person could develop varieties in future. In addition, no NGO should provide any kind of technical guidance to cotton growers without the approval of Agriculture Department. In the meeting, the provincial agriculture minister paid tributes to the officials of agriculture department for better production of the cotton crop in 2020-21.
In addition, a strategy has been formulated to improve future cotton production. On the occasion, Secretary Agriculture Asad Rehman Gilani directed to intensify the ongoing campaign against counterfeit pesticides and ensure availability of quality agricultural inputs in the market to protect the next crop of cotton from pests.
