LAHORE: Punjab Governor Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman has urged the growers to bring maximum area under cotton crop this season to strengthen the national economy.

“Farmers should take full advantage of incentives announced by the government for cotton growers and Rs8500 per maund support price announced by the Prime Minister,” he was speaking at a “Farmer Convention” arranged by the Tara Group in Bahawalpur. The Governor congratulated the group’s Chairman Dr. Khalid Hameed for arranging a mega farmer convention in collaboration with the district administration of Bahawalpur and the provincial agriculture Department.

The Governor further said that Cotton as a cash crop contributes 60 percent in earning foreign exchange. “We had achieved number 3rd position globally in cotton production during the last decade by producing 14.4 million bales but later it dropped three times which unfortunately also badly damaged the national economy,” he added. There is an effort Farmers should have to take full advantage of the very profitable support price of Rs8500 per maund and other incentives set by the Prime Minister to cultivate cotton in the maximum area this time so that the country’s economy can be improved by increasing cotton production.

The Governor also threw light on steps taken by the governor’s house regarding the rehabilitation and development of cotton and especially the modern technology of cotton seeds. He said a special advisory committee for cotton seeds had been established under the leadership of renowned agricultural scientist Dr Khalid Hameed. The committee formulated very effective and feasible recommendations for the rehabilitation and development of cotton. He was very happy to know that Tara Group besides government agricultural research institutes as well as some private sector institutes had developed several high-yielding Bt cotton seed varieties which would play a major role in cotton revival.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023