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RAHIM YAR KHAN, Nov 28: The government should allow cultivation of BT cotton so that the country’s cotton production could be increased and per acre yield could be maximised.
This was said by Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association vice-chairman Muhammad Shafiq while talking to journalists here on Tuesday.
He said that this year India was expecting more than 20 million cotton bales first time in its history due to cultivation of BT cotton.
He said that high cotton yielding countries like the United States, Australia, China and India were cultivating BT cotton on more than 75 pc of the land successfully. But unfortunately in our county BT cotton cultivation is not allowed due to some unknown reasons, he said.
In Sindh, he said, BT cotton was cultivated in some areas and it was observed that per acre yield was 10 to 15 maund more than the other varieties of cotton. Rates of BT cotton, he said, were also much higher than common cotton.
He appealed to Federal Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan to allow cultivation of BT cotton in the country at the earliest so that per acre yield could be improved and farmers could get better returns.
NCHD: In order to promote education and help the students with eyesight problems, the National Commission for Human Development has decided to provide Rs2 million fund for free glasses to the students under the School Health Programme in 16 districts.
The project will help poor students continue study and the NCHD is taking many other initiatives to assist the deserving students. It has already trained 60,000 teachers for screening primary schoolchildren for vision, hearing defects, dental and skin hygiene.
