Rs.2500 million national cotton R&D program launched

A national cotton research and development program has been launched to achieve the cotton production target of 25 million bales by 2025 through evolution of high yielding, long staple, heat-resistant and drought tolerant cotton varieties.

The program will be executed at an estimated cost of 2500 million rupees by Pakistan Agriculture Research Council in collaboration with inter-provincial committee.

The program has been launched following the recent government decision to shift the subject of cotton from the Ministry of Textile Industry to the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

Under the program special emphasis will be laid on research and development for enhancing cotton productivity per unit area.

To achieve the objectives, the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council has devised an eleven point strategy for commissioning the research.