LAHORE: Secretary Agriculture, Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said that the increase in the area under cotton cultivation and production is guarantee of the stability of the country's economy.

This month is very important in terms of cotton cultivation. All the concerned departments including field teams are working side by side with the farmers in implementing the program of rehabilitation of cotton. He expressed these views while presiding over the review meeting of the ongoing activities in Sargodha Division related to Cotton Action Plan 2023-24 in Commissioner Office Sargodha.

Commissioner Sargodha Division Ajmal Bhatti, Deputy Commissioners Sargodha, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Khushab were present along with Director General Agriculture (Extension) Punjab Muhammad Anjum Ali, Director General Agriculture (Pest Warning) Rana Faqir Ahmad, Chief Scientist Citrus Research Institute Muhammad Nawaz Khan Maikan, Director Agriculture (Extension) Sargodha Chaudhry Shahid Hussain and progressive growers of Sargodha Division attended the meeting.

Director Agriculture (Extension) Sargodha Shahid Hussain, while giving a briefing on the cotton action plan, told the participants that this year, Sargodha Division has set a target of 0.180 million acres of cotton cultivation, of which till today, about 0.133 million areas have been brought under cotton cultivation.

Punjab Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said that Sargodha division has achieved the target of cotton cultivation up to 73 percent which is commendable. The next few weeks are very important for cotton cultivation. The field staff of the Agriculture Department under the leadership of Commissioner Sargodha and the coordination of the concerned departments should complete the target of 100 percent cotton cultivation.

During the meeting, Secretary Agriculture, Punjab took notice of the power outage in Mianwali district and directed the concerned authorities to ensure the supply of electricity for agricultural purposes during cotton cultivation.

Later Secretary Agriculture also visited Citrus Research Institute, Sargodha where he was briefed about ongoing research activities in the institute. He directed the agricultural scientists to provide technical guidance to the horticulturists.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

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