Punjab Govt asks Cotton Consortium to adopt villages

Chandigarh, Mar 13 (UNI) Punjab Government today sought the assistance of the members of the Cotton Consortium to further increase the yield of cotton in the state and assured that the it would provide all possible help to the entrepreneurs if they 'adopted' villages in the cotton producing belt.

Presiding over a meeting of the Cotton Consortium of eminent textile entrepreneurs here Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal emphasised the need to adopt maximum number of villages under cotton crop, keeping in view the record production of 26 lakh bales last year.

He asked the Consortium to immediately adopt 50 villages of the Lambi block on the same pattern, for which the Rural Development Board would provide Rs 50 lakh to undertake this programme.

He asked the Markfed Managing Director to tie up with the reputed firms for the supply of recommended varieties of BT cotton seed and quality pesticides to the cotton growers to ensure an all time high yield in the next season.

He also urged upon the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Ludhiana and State Agriculture Department to regularly hold training camps for the cotton growers through its Extension Education Wing and Agriculture Development Officers to upgrade the farmers knowledge about latest technological skills and agricultural inputs required for the production of cotton.

He called upon the farm scientists of PAU to develop modern farm practices in order to further increase the cotton yield in the Malwa belt.

The meeting was attended by Financial Commissioner (Development) G S Sandhu, Secretary Punjab Mandi Board Kulbir Singh, MD Markfed G S Grewal and Vice-Chancellor PAU Dr K S Aulakh, besides other prominent persons .

UNI