LAHORE: The South Punjab secretariat has set a target of 7.58 million bales by sowing cotton on 4.554 million acres to earn foreign exchange and revive the country’s economy.

The secretariat has stepped up efforts to achieve the cultivation target by increasing coordination among the government departments concerned and administration of districts to make the strategy a success.

In this connection, a meeting was held on Thursday in South Punjab Secretariat, Bahawalpur, which was presided over by Bahawalpur Commissioner Dr Ehtesham Anwer and South Punjab Agriculture Secretary Saqib Ali Ateel.

Bahawalpur DC Zaheer Anwer Juppa, Rahim Yar Khan DC Shakeel Ahmad Bhatti, Bahawalnagar DC Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhon, Cholistan Development Authority MD Rao Nadeem and officials of revenue, irrigation and agriculture departments also attended the meeting.

Commissioner Dr Ehtesham Anwer said that measures were being taken to ensure cotton cultivation on 2.314 million acres area in the division.

He said the target of 3.8 million bales of cotton will be achieved from Bahawalpur division. Seeds, fertilizers and agro-medicines are being provided to the farmers at controlled rates, he added.

The commissioner directed all the DCs to launch a crackdown on those dealing in fake and substandard pesticides and said all possible guidelines be provided to the farmers about cotton cultivation and harvest.

Agriculture Secretary Saqib Ali Ateel said the target of cotton cultivation has been set at 5 million acres in the province, with 91 per cent contribution from South Punjab.

He said measures are being taken to protect the crop from diseases while strict action is being taken to prevent the theft of canal water.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2023