This was stated by Director General agriculture (Extension and Adaptive Research) Syed Zafaryab Haidar Naqvi while addressing a seminar organized by agriculture department in cooperation with ICI in Rajanpur on Monday, says in a press release.

Zafaryab said that sowing target for Punjab was fixed at six million acres including 4.9 million acre for South Punjab and 1.1 million acre for remaining part of Punjab.

ADCG Rajanpur Muhammad Afzal Nasir, former DG pest warning Chaudhry Khalid Mahmood, directors agriculture Shafqat Hussain Bhatti, Chaudhry Muhammad Farooq, Malik Saif Ur Rahman and deputy directors besides a large number of farmers attended the seminar.

The DG agriculture extension said that availability of good quality seed of cotton had been ensured this year and no farmer complained about germination strength of seed.

He said the department was making hectic efforts in facilitating farmers to enable them complete the sowing process till May 31.

He disclosed that agriculture department would provide free cotton cloth to farmers to enable them pick clean cotton and for its contamination-free transportation.

He said that farmers gatherings were being held at village, union council, Markaz, tahsil, district and division level for their training on modern production technology and to ensure completion of cotton sowing till May 31. He said that Rajanpur would be developed into a model cotton district.

Chaudhry Khalid Mahmood said on the occasion that modern production technology ensure higher production. He said that if farmers produce one additional boll at every plant then they would get additional one Maund per acre. And, if applied uniformly across the six million acre cotton area, it would yield additional 6 million Maunds to fetch additional Rs 18 billion for farmers.