Rabi sowing target fixed

Sindh government at a meeting held here on Monday under the chairmanship of Provincial Secretary Agriculture Nazar Hussain Meher fixed the Rabi crops cultivation target at 890,000 hectares in the province for which a strategy has been evolved for making available quality seeds.
The meeting was informed that around 80 percent wheat growers use to stockpile own wheat seed for sowing in the next season.
As such it was decided that Sindh Seed Corporation would be assigned the task to clean and upgrade the growers' seed at the rate of Rs 10 per 40 kg. For this purpose the seed grading plants located at Tando Jam, Sakrand, Kot Diji and Ghotki would help the growers to clean and upgrade their seeds.
Experts are of the opinion that graded seeds enhance per acre yield to 120 kg to 150 kg.The meeting advised the wheat growers to avail this facility and get their seed cleaned and graded before the sowing season set in, to improve their wheat production and to make it cost-effective.
Meher advised private seed companies to provide good wheat seed to growers at reasonable rates. At the meeting, the sale rate of pre-basic seed of 'Foundation Seed Cell'which has 549 maunds of pre-basic seed of different varieties, was fixed at Rs 720 per 40 kg, and certified seed of FSC and SSC at Rs 680 per 50 kg.
It was decided that a committee comprising representatives of Sindh Seed Corporation, Federal Seed Certification Department, and private seed companies would monitor and test the seed coming from Punjab, before recommending seed for cultivation on the basis of testing.
It was decided that the seed companies trading substandard seed would be blacklisted. The Director-General Agriculture Research, who is also holding the charge of 'good quality seed foundation seed cell', would lay down research trials right from single line to onward selection for further multiplication, and the stakeholders would be shown those trials. Following the demand from Dr Kazi Suleman, Dean, Faculty of Soil Sciences, Sindh Agriculture University, it was decided that 150 maunds pre-basic wheat seed would be provided to the University for further multiplication.
Abdul Majeed Nizamani, President, Sindh Abadgar Board, emphasised the need for evolution of drought-resistant varieties and said that the sowing area target should be made realistic in accordance with availability of irrigation water.
DG Agriculture Extension, Naeem Ahmed Korejo, informed the meeting that due to floods in riverian katcha areas more land would be brought under wheat cultivation this year.
According to reports, the Secretary had held five meetings with regard to improvement of watercourses, crop maximisation, availability of quality agriculture inputs, but the Information Directorate of Agriculture Extension failed to brief the media about these meetings, as if they were held in camera.