Govt urged probe seed, pesticides sector cartelisation to save agriculture.

ISLAMABAD -- Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Agriculture on Saturday called upon the government to get rid of cartelisation in the seed and pesticides sector for development of agriculture sector.

'The substandard seed and pesticides may hit the agriculture sector to the next level and cotton crop is one of the novel example in this regard,' the committee said in a statement issued here.

It said it was the second consecutive year that cotton growers seemed worried, as substandard seeds had again flooded local markets especially in Sindh province.

These seeds grow nothing or the germination rate is as low as 30-40 in the fields, former chairman of the committee Ahmad Jawad said adding that cotton cultivation had started in the southern parts of Sindh and South Punjab and farmers seemed troubled because of the non-availability of high productivity seeds according to the respective soil conditions.

Despite the fact that the country has...