December 10, 2001	Monday	Ramazan 24, 1422

COTTON is the most important fibre crop of Pakistan as it provides raw material for our textile industry. It earns the highest export revenue while minimising our dependence on the imported edible oils through cotton-seeds.

Approximately, 70 per cent of its growing takes place in Punjab, while the rest of the area is mostly in Sindh.

Given the difference between the yields outside and those obtained in Pakistan and the gaps within Pakistan itself, it is necessary that this crop should receive a special treatment— right from cultivation to its transformation into value-added fabrics.

The Sindh agriculture department has prepared an ‘Action Plan, 2000’ for doubling the cotton production in the province. as compared to the yield in 1999, by the year 2002. The plan prepared under the Sindh Cotton Development Project (SCDP) is primarily based on rice substitution.

The basic reasons underlying the plan are:

(a) less irrigation water required for cotton production than rice cultivation,— about 67 inch per acre for rice as against 28 inches per acre for cotton; (b) pest attack due to shortage and late availability of water; (c) non-profitability of rice export due to falling price due to IRRI rice in the global market and, (d) non-profitability of mono-crop culture.

The plan was prepared after a field survey in three rice- producing districts situated on the right bank of the river Indus where rice was grown on 4,59,921 hectares, while the plan envisages, growing cotton in these same three districts on 18,000 hectares during the year 2002.

During the 1999, rice was grown on 49.039 hectares in the nine districts on the left bank of the river Indus and now there is a plan to cultivate cotton in these districts only on 68,151 hectares.

The plan also envisages growing cotton on 7,32,700 hectares in 2002 in 16 districts of the province (excluding Karachi) which would yield about 40,00,673 bales,— 45.48 per cent compared to that in 1999.

In order to implement the plan successfully, The SCDP Sindh Cotton Development Project (SCDP) has given a number of suggestions to the federal and provincial governments, such as;

(a) growing cotton on bigger plots of 100-150 acres rather than on smaller ones because of the fear of salinity; (b) releasing water w.e.f.15 May each year in Sindh Canal, Kirthar Canal and Rice Canal; (c) establishing a ginning factory in Lukki (Shikarpur); (d) implementing the restrictions on the rice cultivation , particularly in the neighourhood of of Shikarpur and Dadu cities; (e) setting up at least one TCP cotton-purchasing centre at Shikarpur; (f) purchasing the cotton produced in the left bank of the Indus river area at a premium price; (g) constructing tubewells at concessional rates in the areas capable of producing more cotton, and (h) cultivating the ‘Nayab’ variety in the right bank areas of the River Indus.