Growers in Southern Punjab failed to achieve the target of wheat sowing due to non-availability of irrigation water, delay in sugarcane crushing and strike of PCGA and non-purchasing of cotton from them. Only 38 percent of total target area was brought under wheat in Multan district and 62 percent yet to be brought under sowing.
The farmer bodies have reported 35 per cent less sowing of wheat all across Punjab as compared to the last year's 15 per cent short fall.Punjab Growers Association President Abdul Ali Zakir Usmani said that the non-availability of the basic inputs like certified and non-certified seeds, DAP and potash fertilisers coupled with less water at the tail end in the south Punjab wheat belt, as well as inability of the farmers to use tube wells due to long spells of unannounced load shedding were responsible for the alarmingly low-level of sowing by first week of December.
In the same way, much-inflated rates of fertilisers were responsible for less sowing. The stakeholders did not rule out a massive flour crisis in 2008 if the final yield in April 2008 proved to be lower than the 2007 mark.
Sources close to the growers in the wheat belt said that the short fall in the sowing was exceptional in Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur districts where it was to the tune of 55 per cent. The sources said the shortage was estimated in south Punjab like 62 per cent in Multan, 45 per cent in Lodhran, 40 per cent in Khanewal, 30 per cent in Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur 42 per cent, Bahawalnagar 45 per cent, Toba Tek Singh 35 per cent, Gujranwala 40 per cent, Narowal 33 per cent, Okara 31 per cent, Narowal 25 per cent, Sialkot 31 per cent and Pak Pattan 36 per cent.
Khurshid Kanju of Pakistan Kissan Board when contacted in this regard said that the low-level of sowing would have a bad impact on next year crop. He said that the shortage of wheat can aggravate in April 2008 and did not rule out massive import of wheat next year if remedial measures were not taken by the government.
Kanju also took exception to the fact that the failure of the federal government to settle the wheat support price was also a silent contributing factor to the lesser wheat sowing as the farmer was not interested in sowing wheat due to the absence of support price as well as high prices of inputs were dissuading the farmer to get into the act. Here it may be pointed out that despite a bumper crop in 2007, the current flour crisis scenario was not expected by the stakeholders while the next year's anticipated crisis can potentially alert them to be vigilant for the response to the same.
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