Punjab completed 72 percent cotton sowing over the target acreage of 6 million for 2013-14 Kharif season, Director General Punjab Agriculture Extension Services Dr Anjum Ali told Business Recorder here on Sunday. "The modest cotton sowing target would be achieved during next 10-15 days to produce 10 million bales of cotton in order to meet the domestic needs of the commodity as well as export purpose," he added.
Punjab had failed to achieve cotton production target of 11.5 million bales by 2 million bales during 2012-13 cotton harvesting season as some areas in south Punjab were hit by floods. Dr Ali said the cotton growers in districts of Jhang, Layya, D G Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Multan, Khanewal, Vehari, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Lodhran, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan are working day and night to sow the strategic cash crop over the remaining 1.6 million acres during next ten days.
It may be added that the Federal Cotton Committee (FCC) has set the cotton sowing target over 7.648 million acres for production of 14.1 million bales for season 2013-14, which is 5.75% more than the current year's anticipated output.
According to official figures Pakistan produced around 14 million bales till May 3, 2013, which were around 600,000 cotton bales less as compared with 14.60 million bales during the same period in crop season 2011-12.
However, Chairman Agri-forum Pakistan Dr Ibrahim Mughal told this scribe that cotton growers are facing lot of difficulties due to shortage of certified cotton seed, inadequate irrigation water supply in seven districts of south Punjab through the Chashma Jhelum link canal, high cost of fertilisers and 50 percent less germination of cotton seed.
He said that the prime time for sowing the new varieties of cotton seed has already passed away and there has been no scientific planning for sowing cotton crop which is the basic raw material for the country's economic lifeline textile and cottage industries.
Meanwhile the Meteorological department advised the farmers that due to prevailing dry weather and rising day time temperature, cotton and sugar cane farmers should irrigate the crops as per requirement. It further said harvesting/ threshing of wheat crop has been completed in most of the agricultural areas of the country. Farmers of upper half of the country are advised to prepare the fields for the coming Kharif crops in time.
It said that except rise in day time temperature and heat waves during most of the days this week may increase water discharge in the river and canals of the country, which may ultimately raise canal water for standing Kharif crops in the coming days.