Farmers adopting to enhance productivity, earn money: Bt cotton has potential to resist insects

Bt Cotton has lot of potential to resist various insects that is why farming community rapidly adopting it to enhance their productivity and to earn more money by quality cotton.
This was stated by Dr Anjum Ali Butter, Director General Agricultural Extension and Adaptive Research Punjab while addressing one-day seminar on "Economics of Adopting Bt Cotton" as a Chief Guest organised by Dept. of Environmental and Resource Economics Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology here on Wednesday at STC Hall of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
Dr Anjum said that Pakistan has been producing 13 million bales of cotton and Punjab province is main contributor by cultivating 60 lakh acres cultivated land. More than 20 lakh acre cotton crop is being grown by the Farmers of Bahawalpur Division whereas 12 lakh acres by farmers of D G Khan Division, he added.
He opined that the farmers of central Punjab are also growing this cash crop instead of rice due to increasing demand of cotton. Professor Dr Muhammad Ashfaq, Dean Faculty of Agriculture, UAF earlier said that cotton is an integral part of human being as it used as a nappy of child soon after birth and it also utilised as "Kafan" on the death of every human being so we cannot deny its significance. Unfortunately, Bt cotton was adopted by Pakistani farmers without any legal shield or regulations designed by federal or provincial governments, Dr Ashfaq added.
He expressed his concern over inauthentic varieties of Bt cotton which were imported from USA and these varieties could not produced expected results due to changing ecological and environment conditions. Professor Dr Iqbal Zafar, Dean Faculty of Agri Economics and Rural Sociology highlighted the Socio-Economic impacts of Bt cotton on Rural folks and said that research work should be initiated to identify the Social aspects regarding adoption of innovative agricultural approaches by farming community. He urged the social scientists to conduct a comprehensive comparative study on adoption of Bt cotton or other traditional cotton crops.
Dr Sarfraz Hassan, Chairman Department of Environmental and Resource Economics and Dr Khuda Bukhsh also spoke on the occasion and presented their research outcomes regarding economics of adopting Bt cotton. They concluded that the ratio of profit of non-Bt and Bt varieties is 1:28, so they advised farmers to grow registered Bt cotton varieties for the better incentive. A large number of farmers from cotton-belt as well as Senior Faculty members and students attended the Seminar.