Multan, Dec 30th: Noted industrialist and progressive farmer, Chairman Dry Port Trust Multan and President Dera Ghazi Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, and Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar are very serious and conscious for promoting the agriculture sector and cotton production in the country which was neglected during a decade. Addressing a press conference at a local hotel he told, In this regard, a high-powered Agriculture committee has been formed of which I am also a part. The committee was taking effective and far-reaching measures to ensure the availability of quality seeds, the prosperity of farmers by strengthening their economic condition, fair compensation of their produce, increase in cotton production by using modern technology, elimination of bogus and bad reputed seed and pesticide companies. He said that Pakistan has to import agricultural produce of 4.5 billion US dollars and 2.5 billion dollars worth of cotton. Following the alarming decline in cotton production, a committee has been set up by the government which has been working for the last eight months and it had submitted a number of proposals like cash subsidy of Rs.25,000 to 30,000 per acre to cotton growers besides ensuring good quality, well germinated and heat resistant seed to growers. He said that India was behind Pakistan in cotton production which has now reached the forefront. Sixty percent of Pakistan's exports and foreign exchange earnings and jobs are related to the cotton industry. Roomi further said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken the best steps for the development of agriculture. He said that more than 900 seed companies were registered by previous Governments, of which fifty percent were involved in spurious and substandard seeds.They plundered the farmers by supplying substandard seeds. The committee headed by Governor Punjab took steps in the field of agriculture and canceled the registration of many of the companies after scrutiny . He said that Substandard pesticides is one of the factors behind the decline in the production of other commodities, including cotton. "We are taking steps to attract farmers to bring them back to cotton crop," he said, referring to farmers' problems. We are ready to take steps to promote research on agriculture especially cotton crops.Roomi was of the view that the support price of cotton must be announced before sowing season so that maximum area could be brought under cotton crop. Jalaluddin Roomi also suggested that thousands of acres of state land lying idle in Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh must be brought under cotton crop to achieve the target of 20 million bales if we manage to use this land for farming then we can achieve our targets of self-sufficiency.He said that Government should introduce corporate farmings in Pakistan to attract the major agro-companies of the world. He further said that a number of seed companies are ready to expand their business in Pakistan we should sign agreements in the larger national interest because we can't afford to import agricultural products. The leading industrialist said that in order to increase the production of cotton in Pakistan, there was a need to hold the seed companies accountable and to mobilize the agricultural scientists in practice. He stressed that in the past, zoning was done for the cultivation of crops on the land, which should be strictly adhered.
He clarified that the industrialists and the government are with the cotton growers. All government research institutions, Central Cotton Research institute and other entitities proved white elephants because they did not serve the nation during last five years.He disclosed that APTMA was ready to bear the expenditure of research work and to cooperate in other sectors. "If we take immediate action on cotton, we can achieve the expected results in the next two years," he said. If the farmers are prosperous then the whole country will be prosperous.