Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said that cotton has been cultivated on 4.5 million acres in Punjab and now more efforts are needed at this stage for better management of cotton.
He expressed these views by presiding over the Cotton Crop Management Seminar held at MNS Agriculture University Multan here on Saturday.
He further said that Chief Minister, Punjab was himself monitoring the Cotton Action Plan. He said that on special directives of the Chief Minister, the Cotton Advisory Expert Group was being established in every division to ensure provision of technical guidance and better management of cotton crop to the farmers.
The Secretary Agriculture directed officers concerned to ensure availability of quality pesticides in the market and to achieve this objective, intelligence-based raids must be conducted and legal action should be taken against those involved in manufacturing and selling of adulterated pesticides.
Mr. Iftikhar Ali Sahoo emphasized that all stakeholders including academia, scientists, pesticides industry, Ginners and APTMA should jointly strive to achieve the cotton production target which will stabilize the country’s economy.
It was also clarified that the minimum fixed price for the farmers will be made at Rs.8500 per 40 kg and apart from this, cash prizes will be given at provincial and district levels to encourage the farmers.
Experts said that the indiscriminate use of urea fertilizer and pesticides causes damage to the crop, so farmers should manage the crop with the advice of agricultural experts and avoid using unnecessary sprays and fertilizers.
In this seminar, growers and industry representatives also shared their experiences regarding better management of cotton crop.
Secretary Agriculture, South Punjab Saqib Ali Ateel, Additional Secretary Agriculture Task Force, Punjab Muhammad Shabir Ahmed Khan, Vice Chancellor, MNS Agriculture University Multan Professor Asif Ali, Director General Federal Plant Protection Allah Ditta Abid, Cotton Commissioner Dr. Zahid Mahmood, Director General Agriculture ( Extension) Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali, Director General Agriculture Pest Warning Rana Faqir Ahmed, Director Agricultural Information, Punjab Muhammad Rafiq Akhtar along with progressive farmers Khalid Mehmood Khokhar, Amdadullah Chatha, Khadim Bangish, Hassan Raza and other cotton stakeholders were also participated in the seminar.—APP
