MULTAN:Punjab secretary agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahu on Friday asked agriculture officials to submit a comprehensive report about sowing statistics and cotton farmers from across the province by June 15 to finalize a better plan for cotton crop management.
Iftikhar Ali Sahu ordered officials to make all out efforts to ensure availability of quality inputs including pesticides and fertilizers in the markets.
Provincial secretary agriculture issued the instructions at a meeting to discuss cotton management plan at Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture (MNSUA) in Multan, agriculture spokesman said in a statement.
Iftikhar Ali Sahu said that ongoing campaign against those involved in selling fake fertilizers and pesticides be intensified and licenses of registered dealers involved in such practices be cancelled in addition to stricter legal proceedings against violators under the zero tolerance policy of the provincial government.
It may be noted that Punjab government had activated its administrations at divisional and district level across Punjab to monitor cotton from sowing to harvest to get a sizable crop this year after last season shock when country was restricted to just five million bales of production owing to torrential rains, floods and other factors.
Secretary agriculture Punjab asked all the divisional directors of the agriculture department to maintain effective liaison with the respective district administrations and other relevant departments for enforcement of cotton management plan to make cotton production target achievable in Punjab.
Officials informed the secretary that 96.91 per cent cotton sowing target has been achieved in Multan division, 91.56 per cent in Bahawalpur division, 96.16 per cent in DG Khan division and 100 per cent in Sahiwal, Sargodha and Faisalabad divisions.
He asked agriculture extension officials to guide farmers who have sown early cotton varieties on better cotton management plan during their extensive field visits to keep attack of pests and incidence of weeds under control.
He ordered them to repeat sowing in areas where recently sown crop was destroyed by rains and hailstorm.
Additional secretary task force Punjab Muhammad Shabbir Ahmad Khan assured the meeting of zero tolerance against elements involved in sale of fake pesticides and fertilizers.
Later, secretary agriculture also met with representatives of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) for improvement in cotton supply chain.
South Punjab secretary agriculture Saqib Ali Ateel, Director General agriculture extension Dr. Anjum Ali, DG Pest Warning Rana Faqeer Ahmad, chief scientist Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Dr. Muhammad Akhtar, director agriculture information Muhammad Rafiq Akhtar besides other officials were present in the meeting at MNSUA while directors agriculture extension from Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Sargodha joined the meeting online.