December 2006
Dec 30, The post	Rs. 160b Loan to facilitate farmers Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture & Livestock (MINFAL), Sikandar Hayat Bosan Friday that the government has decided to allow the cultivation of the BT Cotton. In a meeting with All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Association (APTMA), minister said that the cotton production in the country over the year has significantly improved and the production of clean and contamination-free cotton was practically possible through economic incentives
Dec 30, Dawn	Home-grown BT cotton seed to be introduced The government has decided to introduce its home-grown Bacillus Theoreogenesis (BT) cotton to pre-empt the spread of spurious seeds in the country. According to sources in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) fake seeds had played havoc in certain parts of the country and compelled the government introduce its own seed. The National Institute of Bio-Tech and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) has developed the seed, called IRFHN01. Initially, seed for sowing on 5,000 acres would be released to farmers.
Dec 25, The Post	Govt. set to achieve 15m cotton bales target by 2010 The govt. was adopting measures to achieve the production target of 15 million cotton bales by 2010 or even earlier as it is aware of the importance of this crop in the national economy.The cotton production in 2005-06 is estimated at 10 million bales, however, with the steps being taken by the govt. it is hoped the cotton production in the country may go up to 15 million bales by 2010.
Dec 22, Dawn	Cotton target fixed at 12.5m bales The government has fixed cotton production target of 12.5 million bales for current season (2006-07), with a major chunk of around 10.05 million bales to be produced by Punjab, followed by Sindh 2.35 million bales, and Balochistan and NWFP 0.1 million bales.
Dec 21, The Post	Cotton output target set at 21m bales by 2015 Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan has said that the government has set the cotton production target at 21 million bales by 2015. In order to achieve this target, all the possible means are to be explored for enhancing the per hectare yield and at the same time minimizing the crop losses. Therefore, there is much scope for introducing the cultivation of BT cotton in the country. The minister expressed these views while talking to a three-member delegation of Monsanto, an international agriculture company, led by the Director Asia Pacific Region, Andre Recardo Miranda Dias here on Wednesday.
Dec 21, Business Recorder	21m bales of cotton output target set for 2015: Bosan An achievable mark at 21 million bales for 2015 has been set for Pakistan. In a meeting with a Monsanto delegation, Federal Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan said, that the government will see that agriculture production goes up and the losses are kept to the minimum. Monsanto will help by introducing Bt cotton varieties of Boll GuardII and other hybrid varieties of cotton in the country. The group also confirmed that they would work on more areas in agriculture such as livestock and hybrid seeds of maize and soybean to aid Pakistan in reaching their goal
Dec 15, Daily Times	Growers urged to cultivate more oilseed crops The government has urged upon the growers to cultivate more oilseed crops to not only earn profit but also to play their role in saving foreign exchange of Rs 53 billion presently being spent on the import of edible oils.
Dec 15, Dawn	New cotton varieties approved: Minister Punjab Agriculture Minister Arshad Khan Lodhi has stated that the Punjab Seed Council has approved three new cottonseed varieties that will bring about a revolution in agro-economy with their better yield potential. He said the third cotton variety NIBJI-2 was evolved by the national Institute for Bio Technology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, which was resistant against leaf curl virus, drought and pest attacks
Dec 05, Daily Times	Production of cotton rises 2.25% since last year The spokes man of the PCGA said that 8.978 million bales arrived compared to last year's 8.781 million bales till Dec 1, showing a meager increase 2.25 percent in the national production.
Dec 03, The Nation	NA body for ban on sugarcane in cotton growing areas The committee stressed upon the need for provision of uniform cottonseeds approved by the concerned department of agriculture to the growers for specific areas.
Dec 02, Dawn	Govt. urged to address small farmers' concerns Speakers at a seminar urged the government to address concerns of small farmers in the proposed Plant Breeder's Right (PBR) Act before its finalization. They also urged the government to ban biotechnology (BT) cotton cultivation in the country on the ground as BT cotton was not authentic and of the approved variety. Even pioneer countries of this seed were not exactly sure about its harmful effects on the fragile ecological environment and towards the health of humans.
Dec 01, The News	Corporate Farming being encouraged Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that to increase agricultural output, new techniques and technology were needed. The government will help public-private partnership in corporate farming to increase efficiency and output in the sectors of farming and livestock. Agriculture is the most important factor of Pakistan’s economy. The government will help in the development of agriculture. Programmes to advance CAF will help the economies of scale and bridge the gap between demand and supply making Pakistan an exporter of agricultural goods.