ISLAMABAD: The first meeting of Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) would be held here on August 10 to assess the volume of current cotton crop in the country.

The committee would assess the volume of current cotton crop in the country, besides assessing the per acre crop output and average plant population and crop outlook, said Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah.

Talking to APP here on Thursday he said that the meeting would also discuss the challenges and issues being faced by the cotton growers at post harvest stages and would suggest their remedial measures.

All stakeholders including Ministry of Textile Industry, representatives of provincial governments, Plant Protection Department, Trading Cooperation of Pakistan (TCP) and cotton growers would attend the meeting, he added.

Among others the meeting would also be attended by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), he added.

Giving the overview about the crop, Dr. Abdullah said that cotton crop for the season 2017-18 was progressing well in Sindh and Punjab.

Meanwhile, he said that Ministry of Textile Industry in collaboration with other stakeholders has trained about 4,514 cotton growers in order to enhance the output of major cash crop across the cotton growing areas of the country.

As many as 103 training programmes were conducted across the crop growing belt, besides airing 17 radio programmes and TV shows to create awareness among the farming community, he added.

He further informed that 52 training programmes were organized in Punjab province and trained 2,162 farmers about the off-season crop management, he added.

Meanwhile, 24 training session were conducted in Sindh and 27 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces respectively to create crop management awareness among the farmers of these areas, he added.