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The provincial agriculture departments of Punjab and Sindh will submit their survey reports on the impact of recent torrential rains and flash floods on cotton crops in various sowing areas to develop future strategies to revive the cotton industry and protect farming communities.
The provincial governments have been tasked with surveying the areas where thousands of hectares of standing crops were affected due to recent spells of rains and floods, said Cotton Commissioner in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research Dr Zahid.
Talking to APP on Thursday, he said that the report, which would be compiled by the provincial agriculture departments, will help to mitigate the negative impacts on the crops and minimize damages, besides preparing a framework to protect farming communities from such vulnerability.
He further said that the recent rains in Punjab and Sindh had partially damaged the cotton crops, adding that in some areas, the situation resembled flooding, which completely destroyed the cotton crops.
In Sindh, floods damaged cotton crops in the districts of Naushahro Feroze and Dadu, he said adding that in Punjab, the damage was reported in Rajanpur and DG Khan districts, whereas the crops of other districts were also affected due to the rains.
Dr Zahid noted that the current season’s cotton output is estimated to reach about 8.2 million bales, compared to the target of 9 million bales. He added that a clearer picture of the damage will emerge after the completion of the damage survey.
He said that the Punjab has achieved 81 percent of its cotton sowing targets, cultivating the crop over 3.221 million acres against a target of 4 million acres, adding that the Sindh has completed sowing in 87 percent of the targeted areas.
Meanwhile, he said that the cotton arrivals in local markets have declined compared to the same period last year, which was also attributed to unfavorable weather conditions and a reduction in area under crop sowing.
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