LAHORE:
The overall condition of the cotton crop across Punjab has remained satisfactory, while rice cultivation has already exceeded this year’s target, covering more than six million acres against the set goal of five million.
The update was given during a high-level meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo in Multan on Saturday to review the situation of standing major crops, farmer guidance programmes and steps being taken to promote agricultural activity in the province. The meeting was attended by Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Asif Ali, Special Secretary Agriculture South Punjab Sarfraz Hussain Magsi, Directors General of the Agriculture Department Abdul Hameed, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Dr Aamir Rasool and Dr Sajid-ur-Rehman along with Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, Syed Hassan Raza and Dr Muhammad Iqbal Bandesha, besides other officers of the agriculture and irrigation departments.
Additional Secretary Task Force Shabbir Ahmed Khan, Director General Crop Reporting Dr Abdul Qayyum and Agriculture Department Consultant Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali joined the proceedings online.
Cotton remains central to Pakistan’s economy, feeding the country’s textile sector, which accounts for the largest share of national export earnings. Output has fluctuated in recent years because of erratic weather, pest pressure and competition from other crops, forcing both growers and millers to close watch the current season’s performance.
Speaking at the meeting, Sahoo said the development of the agriculture sector and the welfare of farmers remained among the government’s top priorities. He directed that field formations should continue their outreach efforts without interruption to guide farmers and the strategy drawn up for reviving the cotton crop must be fully implemented.
He remarked that the national economy could not be imagined without cotton, underlining its role as a cash crop and key raw material for the textile industry.
Regarding rice plantations, Sahoo gave directives that technical guidance to growers be further accelerated to help secure both higher yields and better crop quality, noting that the area sown in the current season had already surpassed the provincial target. He also asked regional agricultural forums to make full use of their professional expertise to support farm-sector development at the local level and praised the performance of the Agriculture Department’s field staff.
Following the meeting, Sahoo paid a visit to the Model Agriculture Mall in Multan, where he inquired about the availability of fertilisers and other inputs for farmers. He instructed the officials concerned to ensure that fertiliser stocks remained sufficient at the facility to meet farmer demand during the ongoing season.
Officials said the government would continue monitoring both crops closely in the coming weeks as the rice transplantation season was winding down and cotton was moving into a critical growth phase that would determine the size of this year’s harvest.
