LAHORE: Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo has said that the next 15 days are critical for cotton cultivation.
All the concerned departments, including the field teams of the Agriculture Department, district administration and Revenue staff, should work hand in hand with the farmers to ensure maximum area cultivation of cotton.
He expressed these views while presiding over the review meeting of ongoing activities related to Cotton Action Plan 2023-24 on Friday.
In the meeting, Secretary Agriculture, South Punjab, Saqib Ali Aqeel, Additional Secretaries Task Force Muhammad Shabbir Ahmad Khan and Imtiaz Ahmad Waraich, Director General Agriculture (Extension) Punjab Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali, Deputy Director Agricultural Information Naveed Asmat Kahloon along with the officers of Agriculture Department Multan Division participated.
It was briefed that during the current year, Multan Division has a cotton cultivation target of 1.269 million acres, out of which nearly 0.740 million areas have been brought under cultivation which is 58 percent of the total target.
On this occasion, the Secretary Agriculture Punjab said the target of cotton cultivation can be achieved only with better coordination.
The field staff of the Agriculture Department will continue to liaise with all the concerned departments to complete the target of cotton cultivation.
He added that every officer of the Agriculture Department is a part of the “Grow More Cotton” campaign. Agricultural extension workers should provide technical guidance and support to farmers for cotton cultivation.
He further said that a report based on correct statistics regarding cotton cultivation should be provided. This data will also be checked, and those reporting wrongly will be held accountable.
The government of Punjab has provided Rs600 million subsidies for certified seeds of approved varieties of cotton, and billions of rupees are also being given as subsidy on fertilizers.
He directed the concerned authorities to ensure strict monitoring of the quota of respective districts under a track and trace system for the delivery of fertilizers.
On this occasion, the Secretary Agriculture South Punjab said that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has also issued a notification of Rs8500 per maund to ensure cotton prices this year. He said the timely technical advisory is also being provided to farmers for cotton crop management.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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