Additional Director General (ADG) Farm & Training, of the Agriculture Department of Faisalabad, Ishtiaq Hussain, has laid stress on the adoption of modern technology and hybrid seeds to increase cotton production in the country. He stressed on the farmers to increase their per acre yield for the benefit of themselves and their country by adopting the latest technology and using refined seeds.

While speaking to a gathering of farmers, academics, and officials from the agriculture department at the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI) in Faisalabad, he said that the cotton plant was responsible for a major chunk of Pakistan’s exports. He said, “Punjab province produces 70% of the total cotton crop in the country. It also employs 30% of the agricultural workforce. Still we have not fully exploited the cotton sector of the economy.”

He continued, “we need to fully rely on our seasonal variance to grow crops in a way that we get the maximum yield. Production of cotton crop can also be increased if farmers start to use modern technology and update their methods of sowing, tilling and harvesting.” Ishtiaq Hussain emphasized the dynamic role that technology can play in enhancing per acre yield, and urged members of agricultural department to help the farmers in adopting new technology and the use of new seeds.

He said that other sectors of the economy like textiles, livestock and food, were also dependent on a successful cotton crop for their growth. He continued, “off-season management is also imperative to save the cotton crop from the attack of pests including Gulabi Sundi (pink bollworm).” The meeting also discussed various matters related to the promotion of cotton crop and approved its production project for 2023-24 along with some recommendations. Principal Scientist AARI, Dr Ghulam Sarwar and others also addressed the meeting.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk