Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research recently expressed concern over the gradual shrinking of land under cotton cultivation and termed it a ‘potential damage’ to the economy. Committee chairman Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah underlined the need to encourage the production of long-staple cotton crop with considerable export value.
Seeking the view of the ministry of national food security and research on the issue, Shah asked it to gather feedback from the provinces on how to enhance crop cultivation in the country, according to Pakistani media reports.
The ministry was also asked to hold a brainstorming session with the stakeholders and farmers on how to enhance overall cotton crop production and what steps should be taken to encourage cultivation of long-staple cotton.
Scarcity of certified seeds, low profitability and issues of plant population were among the main reasons behind the fall in cotton production, cotton commissioner Khalid Abdullah told the committee. Cotton production should also be initiated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to enhance yield, he suggested.
Cotton production had declined from 13.595 million bales in 2011-12 to 11.980 million bales in 2017-18, Abdullah added.
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