ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: The cotton vision programme envisages production up to 15 million bales by the year 2010. The government intends to provide facilities to all stakeholders , particularly the growing community through both price and non-price measures to safeguard their interests.

Officials told APP here on Tuesday that the cotton policy had been devised to offer a package of fiscal, technological, administrative and legislative measures to boost cotton production, ensure qualitative improvement and safeguard the interest of all stakeholders.

The policy thus encircles the areas along with the measures to ameliorate the cotton situation in the country. The introduction of new cotton varieties and certified seeds along with genetic base of commercial cotton varieties will greatly help increase per hectare yield and enhance production.

Broad genetic base is very important for resistance against viruses and disease and adaptability in various agro-environments. The new cotton policy envisages these parameters to increase productivity of the most valuable commodity for earning precious foreign exchange.

It is most important to diversify the genetic base and wide crosses may be attempted for stabilizing cotton varieties to resist disease and commercial adaptability. For this purpose, the policy proposed that the germplasm would be collected from all cotton growing countries.

The government realizes the necessity of continuing the support price mechanism for seed cotton in order to safeguard growers' interest. The rise in cost of key farm inputs and wide fluctuations in the cost of HSD necessitated that the government should review the support price of cotton.

Cotton is the lifeline of Pakistan's economy. Enhancing its volume and value has thus invariably remained the focal point in the national agricultural research and development strategies.

As a matter of fact, the economic significance of the cotton crop and the necessity to boost its production was realized soon after the independence, which led to the establishment of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee in 1948 for the improvement and development of growing, marketing and manufacture of cotton.

Over the years, there has been a significant improvement in cotton production in the country. The quantum of cotton production has moved up sizably to over 10 million bales. The country is also producing long staple cotton of 1-1/8" and even longer. -APP