Punjab Minister for Agriculture Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh has said that cotton is a cash crop, therefore, only disease-resistant varieties of cotton should be cultivated for attaining maximum production and earning foreign exchange.
He said this while presiding over a special meeting with agricultural scientists here on Monday. Director General Agriculture Punjab (Extension), Director Cotton, Director Sugarcane and Director Bio-technology of Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad were also present on the occasion.
The Minister advised director cotton for sending locally developed varieties of cotton immediately, which have successfully cleared the initial trials of Punjab Seed Council for final approval so that farmers could get rid of substandard and uncertified BT cotton seed. The provincial minister also ordered the director sugarcane to conduct a survey of all sugar mills in Punjab and the adjacent sugarcane growing areas and submit a report to him within a week.
The minister also directed the director general (Extension) and director sugarcane to prepare a list of registered sugarcane growers and specify the sugarcane seed multiplication areas so that only certified seed of sugarcane could be provided to the farmers. Aulakh directed Director General Agriculture Extension to focus on varieties of crops, which have a higher per acre yield, as it would help in poverty alleviation and strengthening national economy.
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