ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Special Committee on Agricultural Products on Thursday recommended an upward revision in the support price for cotton and its announcement at the earliest.

The special committee – led by NA Speaker Asad Qaiser – unanimously stressed continuity and early announcement of the intervention price as well as an increase in the minimum indicative price.

It may be recalled that the government has fixed the minimum support price of cotton for Rs5,000 per 40kg.

The panel was informed that the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) planned to restructure the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC).

The NA special committee emphasised the need for urgent measures to ensure production and availability of high-yielding, a disease-resistant certified seed for cotton and wheat. The committee members noted that the sale of adulterated and inferior quality agricultural inputs continued to rob farmers of decent profitability. The panel vowed to develop a new regulatory framework to arrest adulteration of agricultural inputs.

The MNFSR officials said that the production of certified seeds was increasing every year, however, the adaptation of these seeds posed a formidable challenge.

The NA panel urged the concerned officials to devise a vibrant regulatory framework and adopt stringent measures to prevent adulteration of agricultural inputs, particularly fertilisers and pesticides.

The members stressed that the federal and provincial governments should jointly evolve an institutional and legal framework to ensure zero tolerance for adulteration of agricultural inputs.

The MNFSR officials maintained that the track and trace system introduced last year was yielding positive results. The panel was informed that a ministerial committee has been established to negotiate with multinational companies to import high-quality cottonseed and facilitate the transfer of the latest seed technology.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2022