ISLAMABAD: Apart from other well-conceived measures, the fixing of support prices of Rs3,000 per 40-kg for seed cotton (phutti) will act as catalyst for encouraging farmers to cultivate cotton and help them avoid losses on account of price fluctuation.
According to reports, fixing of support price alone will help secure return of the farmers and improve production of cotton in the country. The report said that availability of certified/approved seed to farmers in a timely manner had been ensured by the ministry besides enhancing the standard of germination to 75pc instead of previously approved 50pc to lessen the loss of farmers on this account.
Moreover, 21 new varieties of cotton (including Bt cotton) were also approved by the department concerned.
Area under cultivation of cotton has been improved from 2.767 million hectare to 2.861 million hectare despite flood losses of about 86,000 hectare. The other step taken was to strengthen Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, the premier cotton research organization, to enable scientists to produce new better varieties of the crop.
The overall cotton production is estimated as 13.5395 million bales as compared to 12 million bales produced during last year.
