Futuristic preferences of energy sources in the milieu of energy crises: cotton growers perspective in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan is one of the prominent countries in the context of growing cotton in the world. Better cotton production paves the way towards thriving textile industry in Pakistan which means a lot to people for many reasons including employment and income generation. However, the energy crises have been putting drastic impacts both on the cotton growers as well as on the textile industry sometime creating a huge supply and demand gap. This study aimed at measuring the futuristic preferred perspectives of the growers in the context of various available energy sources in order to confront energy shortage. Fifty specialized cotton growers were purposively selected from Multan district of the Punjab (Pakistan) in order to collect data and consolidate their future preferences. The collected data were analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Moreover, the qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis technique. Findings indicated that the hydro and solar energy were in preference with a view of electricity while gas(natural) for the heat purposes. This study urged that for helping the farmers to run the tube well to meet irrigation needs, the electricity should be provided on low rates. On the real grounds, concerted efforts are required to pave the way (especially) for the cotton growers to harness the benefits of solar energy for various pursuits for better agriculture especially for running tube well.