By Our Correspondent
LAHORE: Minister for Agriculture & Livestock Punjab, Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani, participated as the chief guest at the MoU signing ceremony held at Agriculture House, Lahore. Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, was also present at the event.
On this occasion, the Minister stated that “Cotton is our cash crop, and this MoU will serve as a milestone in boosting and promoting cotton production.” Under this MoU, the Agriculture Department Punjab and BCI, in partnership with the private sector, will focus on increasing cotton production through demo plots, judicious pesticide use, farmers training, and efficient water usage—ensuring fully traceable and improved output.
He added that these efforts will strengthen the cotton value chain and increase international demand for Pakistani cotton. According to the agreement, Ba-Khabar Kissan and FACE will launch a mobile application using artificial intelligence to provide around 500,000 Kissan cardholders with pest alerts and weather updates specific to cotton. This state-of-the-art portal will also offer real-time monitoring and analysis of cotton-growing areas and help identify regions of high and low productivity.
The Minister further mentioned that an agriculture planning framework is being developed for the next fiscal year. This plan will provide technical and financial support to both the public and private sectors to enhance the production of key crops and uplift farmers. The pilot project for cotton will later be extended to wheat and other major crops.
On this occasion, Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo affirmed that the Agriculture Department Punjab will support the private sector in overcoming the challenges faced by the cotton crop. He emphasized that the use of modern technology is the need of the hour and requires collaboration from all stakeholders.
The ceremony was attended by Additional Secretary Agriculture Task Force Punjab Muhammad Shabbir Ahmad Khan, Director Generals Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Consultant Agriculture Department Punjab Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali, BCI Country Director Hina Fauzia, Ba-Khabar Kissan CEO Khizar Alam, and other officials.
The MoU was signed by Director General Agriculture (Extension) Punjab Chaudhry Abdul Hameed on behalf of the Agriculture Department Punjab, and Dr. Muhammad Qadeer on behalf of the Better Cotton Initiative. Under the service agreement, Hassan Akram signed on behalf of FACE and Jaudat Ayaz on behalf of Ba-Khabar Kissan.
