National News

ISLAMABAD, (MILLAT ONLINE):Ministry of Commerce and Textile Industry has introduced mechanized cotton picking in the country in order to save the huge labor cost incurred on crop picking, besides saving the time as well as making the local output more competitive in domestic and international markets.
The cotton picking machine has been imported from Uzbekistan with an aim to over come the labor cost on the cop as well as to over come labor shortage during the crop peak of picking season in different crop growing areas of the country, said Cotton Commissioner in the Ministry of Textile Industry Dr Khalid Abdullah.
Talking to APP here on Wednesday, he said that the initiative will also help in mechanization of cotton farms and fields, besides reducing the labor cost and saving the crop from the climate effects including torrential rains.
He said that cotton picking machine was imported by the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) in collaboration with private sector for promoting innovative and mechanized farming in the country to enhance per-acre crop out put for alleviating poverty from the rural areas of the country.
The machine has a capacity to work equal to 1,500 labors and picking cotton from 10-12 acres per day and was an alternate option to save the crop from any unwanted climate change effects like rains and storms, he added.
He further informed that cotton picking rates usually went up during the season as most of picking process was done through female cotton pickers, adding that the machine would also help in bridging the gap between supply and demand of labor.
The practical demonstration of the cotton picking machine would be held at Cotton Research Institute, as a three members team from Uzbekistan headed by Vice President of Ez Agro Technician has also provided a week long training to the staffers of CCRI, he added.
Cotton Commissioner said that due to labor intensity, the mechanized cotton picking would gain momentum and help in reducing labor cost, where as the new varieties of cotton crop would also be promoted.
He said that the machine was fit for all varieties, however, he said that it was giving optimum results for the crops sowing on line to line in three feet distance and plant same plant size.