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LAHORE, Aug 17: Farmers claimed on Friday that more than 25 per cent of the cotton crop was under attack of different pests, pleading for availability of genuine pesticides and an effective campaign against the spurious ones.
The prolonged hot and humid weather had started worsening the situation as the government had been slow to respond to the crisis and check the availability of genuine pesticides, they complained.
According to the latest figures produced by the farmers, the mealybug attack had gone up four times — from 8.05 per cent last year to 32.83 per cent this year. “This is a very serious situation for the crop which is a basis for 63 per cent of national exports.”
Equally active was Army Worm the attack of which had witnessed a 400 per cent increase in the last one year, that is, from 2.98 per cent in 2006 to 8.23 per cent this year, they said.
While the incidence of the most lethal Curl Leaf Cotton Virus (CLCV) had gone up from 57.81 per cent to 60.82 per cent in a year.
The cumulative effect of all these pest and virus attacks could be a substantial reduction in the cotton crop for which a target of over 14 million bales had been set, they said.
The AgriForum Pakistan chairman said the mealybug attack was severe in Pakpattan, Mailsi, Sahiwal, Liaquatpur, Jampur and Gojra. Attack of medium intensity had been reported from Multan, Shujaabad, Lodhran, Khanewal, Kabirwala, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Kot Addu, Alipur and Jampur, he said.
As for the CLCV, he said, Jalalpur, Vehari, Mailsi, Burewala and Arifwala had been severely-hit places.
He said the overall crop situation was precarious because of exorbitantly high prices of pesticides and spurious poison.
“The manufacturing companies are creating artificial shortage in the market and minting money as pressure on growers mount because of severe pest attacks on cotton. The government should take steps to control the situation or get ready for some serious damage to the crop,” he warned.
The Farmers Associates Pakistan, which convened a meeting of the standing committee on cotton, said around 25 per cent crop had suffered damage due to pest and virus attacks.
According to its estimates, the mealybug has affected 15 per cent of crop and the CLCV hit 10 per cent of it. Unavailability of pesticides would add to the problem, it feared.
The FAP meeting demanded that the government should ensure availability of quality pesticides at controlled prices. It should also check the All-Pakistan Textiles Mills Association’s effort to import 60,000 bales from
India when the crop in Sindh would be ready in the next 15 days.
If the government wanted to allow import of lint through the Wagah border, they said, it should also allow import of agriculture inputs which were substantially cheaper in India than in Pakistan.
ARSHAD LODHI: Agriculture Minister Arshad Khan Lodhi on Friday asked the cotton growers to immediately root out the saplings infected by the mealybug so that the rest of the crop should be protected.
Speaking to a delegation of growers from Sahiwal, he urged them to examine their crops on a daily basis to contain the attack with minimum use of pesticides.
“The pesticides are detrimental to human health and should be used in consultation with the agriculture experts, wherever necessary,” a handout quoted the minister as saying.
On the complaint of farmers regarding spurious pesticides, the minister assured that the government would not tolerate shortage of pesticides and take every measure to ensure smooth supply in the cotton-growing belt.
The government, he said, had directed manufacturers to arrange pesticides and told the agriculture department to check the sale of spurious drugs. The pest-warning staff was continuing its drive against the spurious drugs at the district and tehsil level, which he himself was monitoring.
The minister said the performance of the pest-warning directorate had improved and during the last four years, a record yield of cotton had been observed.
A meeting to take stock of the pesticide availability and draw up measures to eliminate spurious stuff was scheduled to be held in a few days, he informed the farmers.
