LAHORE: The Cotton Task Force has asked the government to withdraw taxes to revive cotton production.
Members of the Task Force, hailing from the Farmers Associate Pakistan (FAP), Kissan Ittehad and Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA), APTMA and Karachi Cotton Association (KCA), also elected unanimously Seth Muhammad Akbar from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Punjab as its first Chairman and Khawaja Tahir Mahmood from the (KCA) as Vice Chairman.
The Task Force noted the country could not afford further damage to the only cash crop and a subsequent failure of related stakeholders in the supply chain, as the sowing season for the new cotton crop was just around the corner. It was further pointed out that the retail business in Pakistan was already witnessing a visible negative impact of dwindling farmers’ income on the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the newly-elected Chairman, Seth Muhammad Akbar, said the government should immediately take necessary measures to increase cotton production in the country this year. He also called for withdrawing taxes on water, electricity, seed, pesticides and fertilisers to enable the cotton growers to compete regionally in terms of the input cost.
“Similarly, the services of agriculture extension and agricultural technology should be made available to the cotton growers right from the land preparation to the crop harvesting at the farm level,” he asserted.
