Maize output misses target

The country has missed a 3.27 million tonnes of maize production target by 31,000 tonnes or 0.94 percent for the year 2007-08 due to a lesser than expected yield in Punjab, Business Recorder has learnt on Tuesday.
According to provincial estimates provided by the provincial agricultural departments a country-wide output of the maize crop during the Kharif season of 2007-08 stood at 3.24 million tonnes against 3.27 million tonnes targeted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal).
The shortfall marked due to 421-kg or 8.78 percent decline in the expected per hectare maize yield in Punjab, well-placed sources in Sindh agriculture department said. Except Punjab a visible increase was witnessed in per hectare yield in other three provinces of the country with Sindh surpassing the target by 78-kg or 14.63 percent, NWFP 193 kgs or 12.19 percent and Balochistan 167-kgs or 16.7 percent.
Country's overall per hectare yield of maize, which is a main ingredient for poultry and animals feed, also marked a decline of 196-kg or 5.98 percent, sources said.
Underachievement in yield led Punjab to also miss the 2.53 million tonnes production target by 0.213 million tonnes or 8.389 percent, while Balochistan did well by surpassing the 5,000 tonnes target by 2,000 or 40 percent followed successfully by NWFP with 0.18 million tonnes or 24.55 percent. Sindh just managed to produce the targeted 2000-tonnes maize without marking any increase or decrease, said the sources.
In area, "marginal" achievement was made as farmers of the four provinces brought 1.055 million-hectare area under maize cultivation, which is 54,000 hectares or 5.39 percent more than the targeted one million hectares, they added.
With Sindh cultivating maize on 2,000 hectares area against the targeted 3,000 hectares marking a 33.3 percent slump Balochistan topped the country in surpassing the area target by 1,000 hectares or 20 percent followed by NWFP with 51,000 hectares or 11 percent and Punjab with 2,000 hectares or 0.377 percent.
Minfal had set a target to cultivate 3.27 million tonnes of maize, which is one of the country's major crops like wheat, rice and sugarcane, over a one million-hectare of area during the year 2007-08 to fulfil the domestic requirements.
According to the sources, Minfal had set the maize production target for 2007-08 with an increase of 39,000 tonnes or 3.69 percent as compared to 2006-07. The target had also marked 12.8 percent upsurge against the last year's output of 2.91 million tonnes, they added.