Abstract:
The total agricultural land of Pakistan is 34.1% of the total area, and agriculture plays a very significant role in the growth of its economy. Pakistan is one of the central cotton production regions as it is the world's 4th largest cotton-producing country, but in terms of yield, it is in 10th position. Pakistan has very small per unit earnings from the export of cotton as Pakistani cotton is considered low quality, which means low price. Pakistani cotton undergoes a loss of about $350 million per year, which is attributed to farm-level problems and concerns like poor value, improper picking methods, debasement of cotton with trash and water, mixing of different crop grades and seed varieties, improper packing, storing, and transportation. Various factors influence the productivity of cotton as physical factors like land preparation, seed quality, irrigation, and plant protection practices and qualitative variables like age, education, farming experience, etc. After picking up the cotton by the farmers, it is transferred directly or indirectly (through commission agents) to the ginning industrial units for further processing. The three main stakeholders in the marketing chain of cotton are farmers, commission agents, and ginners. They all need skills to perform their jobs effectively but have a certain skills gap. At this point, there is a need to introduce campaigns for skills improvement for farmers, middlemen, ginners, spinners, etc.
Page(s):
17-17
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, August 27-31, 2023 , Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023
Keywords:
cotton
,
cotton
,
commission agent
,
skills gap analysis
,
marketing chain
,
ginners
,
cotton farmers