he United Nations has designated October 7 as the World Cotton Day because the “natural fabric (cotton) is a life-changing product worldwide that sustains 32 million farmers (about half of them women) and benefits more than 100 million families in 80 countries across five continents.”

Pakistan once had a prominent place among cotton producing countries. It took almost two decades of policy choices by successive governments for us to lose the prominence.

Southern Punjab has borne the brunt of this neglect on many counts. The main reason for decline in cotton production is the steering of government resources away from research in cotton farming.

Two main indicators of the decline are evaluated here. First, farmers are forced to sell their produce as cheap as Rs 5,000-6,000 per 40 kg, much below the Rs 8,500 per kg promised by the government.

Second, the Multan directorate of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, a prime institution for cotton research, is a picture of neglect. On a recent visit to the facility, one came across workers wearing black armbands to protest against the stoppage of research funds. Most of them had not been paid salaries for months. The latest crop planted for research purposes has also gone bad.

The theme the UN chose for this year was Making Cotton Fair and Sustainable for All: From Farm to Fashion. In its message, the world body said, “A rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, predictable and transparent international cotton trade system is key to providing employment to millions of vulnerable people around the world.”

However, government policies in the Punjab are heavily tilted towards protecting short-term benefits of the industry at the cost of long-term sustainability of the sector.

On the occasion of World Cotton Day, Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Federal Minister for Commerce Gohar Ejaz made a statement that ran contrary to the UN goals.

Saeed Makwal, a local journalist and a rights activist in Multan, says that the funds reserved for research in cotton run into billions of rupees. “More than 1,000 employees of the PCCC have not been paid salaries. The caretaker chief minister favours industrialists and refuses to release funds for research.”

The caretaker chief minister and the commerce minister were expected to announce on the World Cotton Day that these funds would be released. However, they did exactly the opposite. Makwal says, “the chief minister declared that it was difficult to release even seed money for research purposes, what to speak of the reserve funds… Such statements are underreported.”

Government leaders seldom sound alarm over the purchase of cotton at low prices. They know very well who they are protecting. 

More investment is needed to expand the sector beyond raw cotton production and create new income opportunities, especially for farmers. Such investment has the potential to increase the value of cotton fibre and produce by-products from other parts of the cotton plant.

Low price

Samiq Raza, a farmer in Muzaffargarh district, says he had to sell his raw cotton for Rs 6,000 per 40 kg. “I am aware of people who have sold it for even less,” he says. He said politics driven by the sugar industry has harmed cotton production. He says sugarcane and non-local crops have replaced cotton on much of the cultivated area.

The situation is so dire that the chief minister was forced to express his disappointment. He advised the farmers not to sell their cotton cheap. “We have reports,” he said, “that cotton is being sold at around Rs 6,000 per 40 kg.” He said the government had taken notice of the situation and would act.

After this announcement, Prime Minister Anwar-ul Haq Kakar, too, sought a report from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan on the matter.

The TCP had announced before sowing that it would buy cotton at Rs 8,500 per 40 kg. As a result, cotton production increased marginally over the last year. The increase is also relatable to an increase in cotton demand in the international market as cotton production in the US was expected to decline.

Despite this increase in production this year, cotton production has been falling since the late 1990s. Over the past two decades, countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh, which were far behind Pakistan in cotton exports, have overtaken Pakistan.

A major reason behind this is the industrialists’ preference for readymade solutions. Textile industry has been getting heavy discounts on fuel and electricity. Recently, the government had to withdraw some of these concessions under pressure from the International Monetary Fund. It is alleged that some of the funds were then diverted from cotton research to the industry.

Government leaders seldom sound alarm over the low price of cotton. They know very well whom they are protecting; it is not the farmers.

The writer teaches development support communication at the International Islamic University, Islamabad