Cotton crop satisfactory, rice cultivation exceeds target in Punjab, officials report irrigation and fertiliser focus continues.

A high‑level meeting chaired by Punjab’s Additional Chief Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo was held in Multan on Saturday to review the status of the province’s principal crops. The meeting drew senior officers from the Departments of Agriculture and Irrigation and representatives of farmer organisations. Attendees confirmed that the cotton crop across Punjab remains satisfactory. Cotton is a central cash crop for the national textile industry but has seen recent fluctuations due to weather and pest pressures. They also reported that rice cultivation has already surpassed the provincial target, with more than six million acres sown against the goal of five million acres. Sahoo directed that field teams continue their outreach without interruption to guide farmers and that strategies for reviving the cotton crop be fully implemented. He also urged regional forums to accelerate technical guidance for growers and to support farm development at the local level. Following the session, Sahoo visited the Model Agriculture Mall in Multan to check the availability of fertilisers and other inputs. He instructed officials to maintain sufficient fertiliser stocks to meet farmer demand during the season. Officials said they will continue monitoring the two major crops as the rice transplanting season winds down and cotton moves into a critical growth phase that will determine the harvest size.