LAHORE: Cotton is an integral part of human civilization and history and a matter of Pakistan’s national security and survival.

This was stated by Punjab University (PU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ali Shah while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the two-day International Cotton Conference 2025 organised by the PU Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) in connection with the World Cotton Day on Tuesday.

Researchers, scholars and scientists from 21 national and international universities, including America, China, Australia, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Central Asia and Bangladesh participated in the event.

Prof Shah said, “We have not been successful in making the best use of our agricultural land and it is a pity that agriculture is no longer a very profitable business”. He said that people in rural areas were associated with the agriculture sector for their livelihood and it was important for governments to provide basic facilities to control the growth of urban population.

PU VC says agriculture is no longer a very profitable business

He said that the floods had caused severe damage to many crops in the province and the government’s investment in the sector could help in getting out of the ‘agricultural crisis’.

He said that only big farmers were cultivating cotton due to expensive production and there was a fear that wheat production would also become expensive and, when that happens, it would also receive the same treatment as cotton. He said that he was happy to hear that PU cotton seeds were cultivated on a large scale in Pakistan.

Jeddah Agripreneurship Arab Organisation for Agricultural Development Chair Dr Osama Rayis shared insights on integrating digital transformation and technology-driven innovation into sustainable agriculture.

Pakistan Academy of Sciences President Prof Kausar Abdullah Malik informed about the research on the cotton leaf curl virus. He said that the virus had caused billions of dollars in loss to Pakistan’s cotton industry in the past and Pakistani scientists had researched to identify the associated viruses. He said that government funding and research by Pakistani scientists saved the country from billions of dollars in loss.

He said that microbiota transplantation had the potential to be a game changer against the cotton leaf curl.

Tara Group of Pakistan Chairman Dr Khalid Hameed said that climate change, water, substandard seeds and old methods of farming were creating serious challenges for agriculture. He said that PU CEMB seeds were cultivated on more than 50 percent of the area of Punjab.

Sindh Seed Association President Syed Nadeem Shah said that cotton seeds developed were planted on 80 percent of the land in the Sindh province. He said that the government should pay special attention to agriculture as most of the farmers were facing huge losses after heavy floods in the province.

CEMB Director Dr Muaz-ur-Rehman thanked the participants for continued work on reforms for the development of Pakistan’s agriculture sector. He said that CEMB was also playing an important role in the production of BT-Cotton.

Later, shields were presented to the guests.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2025