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2 ROLE OF COTTON IN PAKISTAN’S ECONOMY
2.1 Pakistan is an arid country, 67% of the country gets less than 10 inches of
rainfall in
a year, 24% gets 10-20 inches, 5.5% gets 20-30 inches and 3.5% gets above 30
inches of rainfall.
Agriculture, is therefore, depended on irrigation. Cotton in Pakistan mostly is
grown in the Indus
valley with continental climate. It is very hot during the summer and cold
during winter. There
is, however, a small area in the Arabian Sea littoral with maritime climate.
Cotton crop requires
30 inches of rain or, irrigation (Afzal, 1986). All the rainfall is mostly
during the monsoon
season. Cotton, therefore, has to be grown under irrigated conditions.
2.2 Cotton is a sun loving
plant and needs lots of sunshine. For area it competes with sugarcane, rice and
maize. Area under maize is insignificant, rice is area specific, therefore, the
real competition is between cotton and sugarcane. In Pakistan, normally
cotton-wheat rotation is the norm. For Sugarcane, season is of over one year
and, therefore, while computing and comparing per acre return this point should
be kept in view.
2.3 Due to Government policies
some of the prime cotton growing area has been taken over by sugarcane. Serious
consideration must be given to revert the sugarcane area back to cotton. Import
of raw sugar to be refined locally must be seriously considered. This will make
investment already made in sugar factories remain productive. Let us not forget
that we can live without sugar (perhaps more healthy) but cannot survive without
cotton.
2.4 Area, production and yield
of cotton are given in Table 1
Table 1
Cotton Area, Production and Yield
|
Year |
Area |
Production |
Yield |
|
|
(000hectares) |
(000 bales 170 kg) |
Kg/ha |
|
1947-48 |
1,237 |
1,156 |
157 |
|
1959-60 |
1,343 |
1,713 |
212 |
|
1969-70 |
1,756 |
3,149 |
304 |
|
1979-80 |
2,081 |
4,282 |
350 |
|
1991-92 |
2,836 |
12,822 |
769 |
|
1999-00 |
2,983 |
11,240 |
641 |
|
2000-01 |
2,927 |
10,732 |
624 |
|
2001-02 |
3,115 |
10,612 |
479 |
|
2002-03 |
2,794 |
10,133 |
626 |
| Source: |
1. Afzal, I. (1992) |
| |
2. PCCC (GOP) |
2.5 The 1983-84 production was
a hall-mark in the history of Pakistan cotton. Firstly due to rains at the wrong
time and secondly a general crop failure, Pakistan was forced to import cotton
for the first time in its history. Against this NJAB-78 a heat resistant
cultivar was approved for general cultivation. The impact of this was dramatic
and cotton production in 1992-93 was 12.8 million bales. This production level
has not yet been passed.
2.6 Increase in yield has been
dramatic and the prosperity, which is seen in the rural areas of Pakistan, is
due to this.
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