The target of production of 15 million bales of cotton according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan can only be achieved if the government should establish a separate cotton ministry to look after the affairs of the cotton trade exclusively.
This was demanded by Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum (KCBF) in their budget proposals for the year 2020-21 sent to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the proposals, KCBF demands that government should impose ban on cultivation of paddy and sugarcane and setting up of sugar mills in the areas already earmarked for cultivation of cotton. A system should be evolved for monitoring of the cotton at district level. The government should fix the support price of cotton in order to encourage the farmers.
The government should mobilise its all resources at federal and provincial level to increase per acre yield and to bring more area under cotton cultivation particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The land of Balochistan is very appropriate for cultivation of crops but unfortunately no steps or initiatives were taken by the government to utilise this land. If the government gave incentives then Balochistan can also play its role in boosting the economy of the country like Punjab and Sindh. The government should also encourage farmers who are taking interest in cultivation of organic cotton in Balochistan.
The government should ensure the supply of certified cotton seed/BT seed to the growers. Awareness should be created among growers for using modern integrated pest management system. All the cotton research institutes of the country should work hard to make virus resistance cotton seed varieties.
KCBF also demands that government should made necessary arrangements to import pure and certified seeds in small packing instead of importing in bulk. It is pertinent to mention here that large quantity of cotton crop was destroyed every year due to the supply of adulterated pesticides to the growers.
Chairman Karachi Cotton Brokers Forum Naseem Usman said that cotton was the backbone of Pakistan's economy. Cotton and its allied products account for about 65 percent of the country's export. He said at present Pakistan's total production of cotton is 8.5 million bales against local consumption of 15 million bales. He urged the government that bold steps should be taken on war footings to increase the local production of cotton and import of cotton should be avoided in national interest.
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