President for taking public, private stakeholders on board to evolve comprehensive strategy to enhance cotton production

Islamabad, April 19, 2011 (PPI): President Asif Ali Zardari asked Food & Agriculture Ministry to take all public, private sector stakeholders on board to evolve comprehensive strategy for enhancing cotton production in the country and strengthen cotton seed production.

He was chairing Food & Agriculture Committee meeting Tuesday at Aiwan-e-Sadr attended Food & Agriculture Minister Mir Israrullah Zehri, Textile Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, MNAs Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Rana Farooq Saeed Khan, Federal Secretaries, Chairman PARC, Agriculture Development Commissioner, Provincial secretaries agriculture, Chairman APTMA, Karachi, Lahore, Balochistan, Punjab, Chairman Pak Cotton Forum Lahore & Secretary General Anjuman-e-Kashtkaraan Rana Iftikhar Muhammad.

Zardari stressed on producing disease resistant, high yielding variety of major crops to attain self sufficiency and make Pakistan food exporting country. He was updated on PARC initiatives on developing hybrid seed of cotton, wheat, sugarcane, canola, aerobic rice cultivation, high bio-remediation of waste water, agriculture machinery development, alternate energy sources for agriculture, bio-fertilizer, watershed management in dams being built.

He said growers who produce maximum yields with new technologies be given incentives as well as researchers. “We are agriculture country with agro based economy and focus on improving livelihood of those associated.” He said federal, provincial research institutions develop latest technologies to enhance crop production to meet growing challenge of food security.