The Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) will buy 1.4 million tonnes of wheat in the current year under wheat procurement drive-2008 and for this purpose Rs 25 billion loan has been approved for the Corporation by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Sources in the Corporation said the corporation would buy 13,30,000 tonnes of wheat from Punjab, 60,000 tonnes from Sindh and 10,000 tonnes from Balochistan province. The target this year is 100,000 tonnes more than the previous year's target.
Till date around 3,50,000 gunny bags had been distributed amongst the farmers from 300 procurement centres set up throughout the areas allocated to the Corporation. Nearest bank branches had been nominated for ensuring immediate payment to the farmers bringing their produce to Passco centres.
'The Corporation has procured 5,182 tonnes of wheat till date. It has procured 20, 658 bags from Punjab and 31,158 bags from Sindh. The Corporation will continue procurement till farmers bringing their produce to its procurement centres,' the sources added.
Passco is procuring wheat from Okara, Pak Pattan, Bahawalnagar, Minchanabad, Mailsi, Burewala, Khanpur, Lodhran, Kehror Pakka, Alipur, Layyah, Gojra, Hafizabad and Pindi Bhattian tehsils, while in rest of the area of the Punjab, Food Department is running its procurement drive.
Passco General Manager (Fields) Chaudhry Abdul Majeed while talking to a group of journalists here on Monday said that they set up their centres in Sindh by March 15 this year and in Punjab in first week of April. He said that they would pay to farmers next day as procurement would continue from morning till evening and in the night staff at these centres would prepare the documents of payment to ensure payment next day through designated banks.
Regarding any idea of production this year, he said that situation would be clear in next one month. He said that Passco not only maintain strategic reserves but also distribute it to wheat deficient areas of the country.
Throwing light upon the role of Passco in flour crisis last year, he said that Passco provided 2,50,000 tonnes of wheat to Punjab, 2,20,000 tonnes of wheat to Utility Stores Corporation and also provided 10,000 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh as announced by the former government.
He said that last government also pledged 33,000 tonnes of wheat to World Food Programme out of which Passco had given 12,000 tonnes and rest would be given from the next procured crop.
About storage capacity of the corporation, he said over all they had capacity to store 4,40,000 tonnes of wheat. They could store 300,000 tonnes of wheat in Punjab under house type stores and another 50,000 in silos, while in Sindh it could store 28,600 tonnes in house type storage and 50,000 in Silos. While it could also store 9,900 tonnes and 2,200 tonnes of wheat in the NWFP and Balochistan under house type storages.
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