Australian Cotton expert Dr Neil William Forrester on Monday said inadequate seed provision system, cotton diseases pests, weeds and water issues can raise Pakistan’s cotton output from 10 million bales to 15 million bales per year worth $4 billion.

Australian Cotton expert Dr Neil William Forrester on Monday said inadequate seed provision system, cotton diseases pests, weeds and water issues can raise Pakistan’s cotton output from 10 million bales to 15 million bales per year worth $4 billion. He addressed a special lecture on cotton crisis in Pakistan and future pathway at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad. He said that in Punjab, cotton production has declined 44 percent and in Sindh it has reduced 5% and overall Pakistan production has gone down by 34% . He said that Pakistan imported 2.2m bales already due to last season’s production shortfall – worth US$ 434m from July to Dec. He also said that the cotton-producing districts of southern Punjab and northern Sindh are among the poorest in Pakistan. He said that modern seed can raise Pakistan’s cotton output from 10 million bales to 15 million bales per year. This can bring $3.1-4.6 billion to the pockets of Pakistan’s 1.7 million cotton farmers. He said that Pakistan is a NET importer of cotton (export 0.3m, import up to 2.3m bales). He said that textile industry expected to increasingly rely on imported long staple and quality cottons to produce export-oriented high quality textile products. He said that cotton breeding in Pakistan now largely non-existent, just taking selections out of current material, goes to seed multipliers, sell through an informal black seed market, aim is for rapid (2 year) varietal turnover. He also called for strong government regulatory framework for the Pakistan cotton seed industry He also stressed upon the need to establish a professional cotton seed company which can breed truly new varieties of cotton and produce pure seed with high germination. He also stressed upon the need to introduce new technologies for control of Bt resistant pink bollworms He said that government needs to implement and enforce the Seed Act and the Plant Breeders Rights Act. Talking about the weed problems, he said that weeds are causing a loss of 1 million bales to Pakistan. He said manual weeding requires large labour inputs which could be better utilised elsewhere. He said that broadleaf weeds are a reservoir for white flies and CLCV inoculums. He called for introducing transgenic herbicide resistant cotton and a strong, functioning biotechnology regulatory authority. Talking about the water, he said that he said that poor drainage, no slopes are causing extended waterlogging. He said that laser levelling, and improved drainage areas will pave the way to address the issue. Former National Assembly Speaker Syed Fakhar Imam said that the agricultural research budget in the country is negligible that must be enhanced to support the researchers that will help strengthen the agriculture sector. He said in India, besides giving heavily subsidy billion of dollars to the farmers, Indian government is providing support price to 32 crops. He called for mechanism of support price for the cotton growers at least Rs 3200 in Pakistan also in order to meet the demands. He warned if tangible steps not taken, the cotton growers would shift to other crops that will more worsen the cotton shortfall next year. He said that the size of cotton in US is 5 grams which is 2.5 gram in Pakistan. If we increase size, the production can be boosted up. He called for developing a system of high germination in Pakistan. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that the cotton production has been facing the stagnation for the last 20 years that is the matter of concern. He said that seed system was not working in the country. He said that breeders had conducted the tangible work on the seed but it is not being translated into goods and services. He said that the UAF scientists had developed genotype of cotton PB-896 that is high yielding and very good fiber quality traits cotton strain developed. Former Agriculture Secretary Arif Nadeem said that food security was the real challenges for the country. He said increase in the per acre production was vital to feed the increasing population. He said that seed issue, traditional way of farming , water scarcity and others are aggravating the issue. Prof Dr Hafeez Sadaqat, and Prof Dr Mirza Aslam also spoke on the occasion.