Bahawalpur division has sown more than 44 percent of all cotton sown in Punjab. This was stated by the Commissioner of Bahawalpur Division Dr Ehtesham Anwar who revealed that Bahawalpur has set a new national record by sowing cotton on 2.13 million acres of land this year.
The cotton area cultivated in Punjab totaled 4.8 million acres this year. Multan had previously set this record by sowing cotton over 2.10 million acres in 2006. The Commission while talking to the media said that according to statistics, the national exchequer is expected to earn $1 billion through cotton production from Bahawalpur division alone. The Commissioner said that the credit for this feat goes to farmers who toiled in their fields.
Administrative officers of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, and Rahim Yar Khan also participated and the agriculture department played a key role in achieving the target.
Dr Anwar added that the cultivation of cotton in such a large area was carried out on the instructions of Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi. He wanted a means of generating $3 billion in a period of four months to deal with the severe economic crisis. For context, the IMF took more than two years to release just $1 billion for Pakistan.
Dr Anwar said that Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahu had taken a keen interest in achieving the target during these four months and had frequently visited Bahawalpur to monitor the performance of the Agriculture Department.
