ISLAMABAD, Sept 13: The government has decided to extend the Cleaner Cotton Programme to four districts - two each in Punjab and Sindh - after satisfactory results obtained from its implementation in Rahimyar Khan and Ghotki districts last year.

As a result of the programme, Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Khair Mohammad Junejo told this correspondent, the contamination level in cotton had been reduced from 19.0 grams to 4.0-5.0 grams per bale in Rahimyar Khan.

The objective, he explained, was to bring Pakistani cotton up to the international standards and enhance its competitiveness in the world.

This level was further reduced in the ginning factories where the cotton standardization system was fully adopted and premium assured. There, the contamination ranged between 1.97 and 0.74 grams per bale.

When his attention was drawn to the reported complaints by the farmers that they were not paid the premium by the industry as required under the scheme, Mr Junejo said in fact premium was paid for nearly 100,000 bales by Aptma as well as the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).

Nevertheless, some farmers could not benefit by it owing to their being unfamiliar with the scheme, he added.

In view of the shortcomings detected in the scheme last year, he stated, the government had decided to modify it in view of the flaws detected during the first phase of its implementation.

To be monitored by himself as well as the Minister for Commerce, the Agriculture Minister said, the scheme would also be implemented in the districts of Bahawalpur and Sanghar from next year.

The reward for producing cotton free of contamination in conformity with the international standards had also been modified to enable maximum number of farmers to benefit by it. Instead of two slabs of premium in the original scheme, next year premium would be paid on the basis of following three slabs:

(1) Rs150 per maund for maximum contamination up to 1.5 grams per 170 kg bale; Rs75 per maund for contamination up to 2.5 grams per bale; and (3) Rs50 per maund for 3.0 grams per bale.

A proportionate share of the premium, approximately 1/3rd of each slab would be passed on to the grower.

All the stakeholders including farmers, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) and ginners have agreed to cooperate in successful implementation of the programme in their own interest as well as that of national economy as a whole.

“Within a year or two, we will shift from B index to A index and be in a position to substantially raise our exports earnings from export of textile products as the 2005 deadline of WTO arrives for the elimination of textile quotas,” he remarked.

In reply to a question, he said the PCSI would be the sole authority to monitor the cotton standardization programme, although the provincial agriculture departments would be responsible for its implementation.

It has also been decided to send a delegation comprising farmers and ginners headed by chairman TCP to China within the next couple of months to study the cotton growing and ginning practices being followed by its western provinces of Urumchi and Sinkiang.