LAHORE: The Punjab Agriculture Department and Irrigation Department have expressed their satisfaction over the situation of canal water supply for cotton crop in South Punjab.

Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahoo and Secretary Irrigation Wasif Khurshid presided over a meeting here on Wednesday to review the water supply situation and reached the consensus that it was satisfactory.

Iftikhar Ali Sahoo speaking on this occasion claimed that water supply in the canals of South Punjab was very important to achieve the cotton production target.

Four million acres of land had been brought under cultivation of cotton in the three divisions of South Punjab that are Bahawalpur, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan, the Secretary Agriculture said, adding the promise of canal water supply during the cotton season was being fulfilled and for this, the Department of Agriculture and Irrigation were working together.

Apart from this, the field teams of the Agriculture Department were providing technical guidance by participating alongside the farmers for the better management of cotton at 52 Kissan Sahulat Centres in South Punjab.

On this occasion, Irrigation Secretary Wasif Khurshid said the Irrigation Department would allocate its shares to South Punjab during the cotton season on a priority basis.

He added that this year there was a 27 percent water shortage in the system of the irrigation department, but with better planning, water would continue to be supplied to the farmers of South Punjab so that the cotton production target can be achieved easily.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023