Punjab’s expected cotton production this season is 18.20 lakh bales compared to 12.23 lakh bales in the previous year, with average production per acre crossing the 10 quintals mark, as against last year’s 9.31 quintals. State chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh recently ordered timely advance support for growers for the next Kharif season.
Singh, who holds the agriculture portfolio, lauded the efforts of the agriculture department, especially the field staff, in motivating farmers to shift to cotton cultivation, as part of the government’s crop diversification focus, according to media reports from the state.Punjab's expected cotton production this season is 18.20 lakh bales compared to 12.23 lakh bales in the previous year, with average production per acre crossing the 10 quintals mark, as against last year's 9.31 quintals. State chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh recently ordered timely advance support for growers for the next Kharif season.#
These efforts translated into increase in the area under cotton cultivation from 6.70 lakh acres last year to 9.80 lakh acres this year, said an official spokesperson.
Timely intervention by the Cotton Corporation of India has led to the purchase of 4.36 lakh quintals of cotton, which is about 20 per cent of the total arrival of the produce in the state’s wholesale markets.
The purchase has been done at minimum support price of ₹5,450 per quintal, fixed by the government for American Cotton, said the spokesperson.
The decline in cost of production due to decreased use of pesticides had also proved beneficial for the farmers, state agriculture secretary KS Pannu said.
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