Since independence the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) has been the country’s premier institution for cotton research and development. For decades it provided a well-coordinated national research framework that supported one of Pakistan’s most vital crops.

Cotton not only powered the textile industry but also contributed substantially to employment and foreign exchange earnings. Yet despite its central role the institutional foundation that sustained cotton research has been systematically eroded. The decline of cotton production in Pakistan is not the result of a single factor; it is the outcome of deliberate neglect weak policy choices and vested interests undermining the very system built to protect this strategic crop.

The first major setback came with the suspension of the cotton cess, which served as the backbone of research funding. Without this financial lifeline, laboratories’ field trials and extension services were starved of resources. The cess had enabled scientists to innovate and farmers to receive timely guidance but once discontinued research and development was left without sustainable funding.

Compounding the crisis was the removal of critical forums such as the Cotton Crop Management Group from PCCC’s research structure. These platforms were handed over to entities with little or no direct connection to cotton research or the field level challenges of farmers. This severed the vital link between scientific research and........

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