MULTAN, Sept 16: The cotton outlook in the fields is encouraging at the moment and the ‘Mealy Bug’ and other pests have not damaged the crop to the extent as is being projected by some corners. This was claimed by Federal Agriculture Minister Haji Sikandar Hayat Bosan while speaking to journalists here on Friday.

He said the menace of ‘Mealy Bug’ was noticed this year but in patches.

However, he said, floods had damaged the crop to the amount of approximately 0.45 million bales in the districts of Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

He said but then the area under cotton cultivation this year was around four per cent more than it was in the last year. “We are optimistic to achieve the target (of 15 million bales), he said, but added that September was crucial as far as plant protection was concerned.

He said according to his information the use of pesticides this year was less than that of the last couple of years.

The minister said the government was vigilant over the stock position of fertilizers and assured the farming community that there would be no shortage this year.

He said this year the ‘big players’ had also invested in import of the fertilizers so as to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Mr Bosan said his ministry had formulated the livestock policy and currently was in negotiations with the banks and DFIs to get assurance from them for financing of the livestock farms.

“Once we get the assurance, we will make public the livestock policy,” he maintained.