Cotton plays a vital role in Pakistan’s foreign exchange so cotton production is compulsory in Pakistan. Production of Cotton in Pakistan is 4,912,069 bales of cotton against 7,441,833 in the 2021-22 season, a year-on-year decline of 2,528,764 bales or a 34pc loss, Decline in cotton growth is a warning point of the country economic because many textile companies depend upon cotton.
Cotton cultivation area 2700 thousand hectares in 2017 -18 and 2200 thousand hacter in 2021- -22. If we look at expected cotton production in Pakistan Punjab is 8.336 million bales,4 million bales Sindh, and 430,000 bales Balochistan. The majority of farmers did not grow cotton because it is a sensitive crop to inputs and pesticides.
Cotton is the second most important crop after wheat in Pakistan. In the present situation area of cotton is decreasing day by day.
Reasons for Cotton Crop failure :
- Lack of seed varieties
- Low germination rate
- High costs of inputs
- Improper management practices
- Uncontrollable diseases and pest attack
- Changing environmental conditions and Natural disasters
- Harvest and post-harvest losses
- No reasonable prices
- Lack of government facilities
- Lack of farmers’ awareness programs
- Lack of modern farming techniques and technology
Lack of seed varieties:
In Pakistan, less availability of hybrid seed varieties of cotton, and their yield potential is also not so good. The lack of seed varieties impacts yield. Less availability of good seeds and less potential yield directly impact farmers’ profit. When a crop is less profitable farmers never grow it again. That is a big reason for cotton failure in Pakistan. If research institutes introduced new high-yielding varieties that increase the farmer’s profit, then we can control this problem.
Low germination Rate:
Cotton is a crop with a low germination rate. A germination rate of 90% or more is very good for a crop but the germination rate of cotton is near about 60-70% which is very low. If the germination rate is low that means the total failure of the crop. A low germination rate means a smaller number of plants and a smaller number of plants means less yield. The only solution is to introduce seeds with high germination rates.
High costs of inputs:
The costs of inputs are too high. The rates of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides are increasing day by day which is not in the range of a small farmer. So, as a result, small farmers are left to grow cotton which is a huge loss and the area of cotton is decreasing with time.
Improper Management Practices:
Cotton is a crop that needs special care. Our farmer uses old farming methods that cause a reduction in yield. In this modern era where agriculture is too fast, and smart and every single farmer runs it as a business, old farming techniques never work if we use old methods that is a waste of resources. If management practices are improper resources available to the plant are lost and as a result, yield is directly affected.
Uncontrollable diseases and pest attacks:
Cotton crops suffer from several diseases and pest attacks. The diseases of cotton are a bacterial blight, boll roots, Alternaria leaf spot, TSV, and grey mildew. Their several attack losses in yield near about 50%. On the other hand, chewing and sucking pests also attack the cotton crop. Sucking Pests like whiteflies, aphids, Jassids, and mites attack cotton crops and lose yield by about 30-40%.
while chewing pests like American bollworm and pink bollworm chew the cotton leaves and lose in yield by about 25-35%. If both pests have severe attacks, then the loss in yield is more than 50%.
Changing environmental conditions and natural disasters:
Environmental conditions are changing day by day all over the world which causes harsh impacts on the crops. Changing environmental conditions result in the form of increasing temperature, heavy rains, and natural disasters like floods and droughts. In high temperature cotton crops can’t survive or if heavy rains more diseases and pests attack which harm the crop.
In Pakistan, natural disasters like floods are coming when cotton is at its peak and the standing crops are entirely ruined. Changing environmental conditions are playing a big role in the failure of cotton crops in Pakistan.
Harvest and post-harvest losses:
Harvest and post-harvest losses result in decreasing the actual yield. In cotton, crop picking should be done carefully and on time. Premature picking of bolls and improper picking of bolls lost in yield near about 10 to 15%. Harvest and post-harvest losses decrease the yield and the profit of a farmer.
Non- reasonable prices:
The big failure of cotton crops in Pakistan is non-reasonable prices. When a farmer gets fair prices from other crops with maximum profit then why does a farmer prefer cotton which is time-consuming and takes much more care and attention? A farmer prefers those crops from which he gets maximum profit but now in the present situation due to non-reasonable prices cotton is not a profitable crop. As a result, due to non-reasonable prices cotton area is decreasing day by day in Pakistan.
Lack of government facilities:
In Pakistan, farmer faces a lack of facilities provided by the government. The government should try to provide loans to the farmers and the different farmers’ welfare programs. The government should also try to provide good seeds to the farmers. If the government wants agriculture to progress, then the government should support the farmers through different farmers’ welfare programs. If this should not be done like cotton our other crop production will also decrease in the coming years and our agriculture fully ruined.
Lack of farmers’ awareness programs:
Cotton is the second most important cash crop in Pakistan. We need to encourage our farmers to grow this and for this, we need to start awareness programs on television, by posters, by our agriculture department to arrange farmers’ awareness programs at the district level, division level, and union council level. We need to approach every single farmer. By using this way, we encourage our farmers and change their thoughts.
Lack of Modern Farming techniques and technology:
Pakistan is a developing country, and our farming system is not so developed. Modern farming techniques and technology are the need of the hour. For better production of cotton crops, we need to use the modern farming system and modern machinery while Pakistan lacks both things. The lack of modern technology is one of the failures of our agriculture system. If we need better production, we need better and well-developed technology.
By using modern technology and modern farming techniques countries like China and India increased their production at a high level. By using modern farming techniques and technology for cotton production we control our harvest and post-harvest losses, control of diseases and pests is easier, and our germination rate also increases, and we can get better production. And this should be possible through government programs and by guiding our
Noor Fatima, Abdul Qayyum, Ali Haider
University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
