The Dera Ghazi Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi has stressed the need for imposing an Agricultural emergency in the country to bring a green revolution and to bring prosperity for farmers and said that we, the industrialists, are ready to cooperate with the Government in research and modernisation of farming. Exchanging views with Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research Syed Fakhar Imam at his residence, Jalaluddin Roomi said that an economic comeback is not possible aftermath of pandemic COVID-19.
The only hope during these grim times seems to arise from the agricultural sector, which should not only show positive growth but also boost consumer demand. Agriculture comprises the crop subsector and allied sectors such as livestock, forestry, and fishing. He said that we would have to increase cotton production to the level of at least 20 million bales.He said that Pakistan must learn some lessons from the developed world where per acre yield had multiplied during last decade but we are lagging behind. Our cotton production declined by 50 percent and we are unable to meet the requirement of the local industry. Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam said,”Being a farmer, I am fully aware of the problems confronted by the growers.
He added that the most important factor which affected cotton quality in Pakistan was the seed quality. He was of the view that to address the imbalances, effective policy initiatives should be taken. Farmers are shifting from cotton to other crops due to low prices and overall imbalances in the cotton industry, effective policy initiatives need to be undertaken, due to the high contamination rate in the cotton produced in Pakistan, the export of the commodity was affected.He was agreed with Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi that said to improve cotton production, linkages between the agriculture sector and industries needed to be enhanced. He assured that he would make his(Roomi’s) proposals a part of the cotton policy.
He mentioned that there was a need to boost the overall condition of the cotton industry through modernization and technology upgrades.Syed Fakhar Imam said cotton production not only supported the overall agriculture sector, but it also, directly and indirectly, helped various industries.
The minister emphasized that development in agricultural technology is essential to growing the per-acre yield of cotton in Pakistan. He explained that his ministry is working to decrease production costs to ensure profitability in the cotton business as well as bringing foreign advancement such as China’s seed technology into the country which can increase the yield.
