Wheat output target may not be achieved

The country is unlikely to achieve wheat production target of 26.01 million tons for 216-17 as the crop in rain fed areas has badly suffered at germination stage because of drought conditions. According to satellite based wheat crop situation and forecast released by Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) as a result of inadequate rains up to 25 to 35 percent reduction in wheat produce is expected in rain fed areas of the country.
The share of wheat production from rain fed areas is around 1.6 million tons per year but its production may fall by 25 to 35 percent in these areas as it has badly suffered during sowing/germination time because of drought conditions emanating from scanty rains. According SUPARCO forecast, in irrigated areas of the country, wheat crop situation was generally good.
In lower Sindh wheat harvesting starts during early March and in Punjab, Upper Sindh, and Balochistan mostly during mid-April to early May. In KPK, the harvesting generally starts by mid May. In upper areas of the province, the wheat harvesting is late by another three to four weeks. The positive factor in wheat crop this year was an increase in fertiliser off with Nitrogen increasing by 18.7 percent and Phosphate by 3.4 percent over last year. The government has set wheat production target at 26.01 million tons for Rabi sowing season 2016-17 from an area of 9.1 million hectares. Out of 26.01 million tons, Punjab is projected to produce 19.51 million tons, Sindh 4.2 million tons, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1.4 million tons and Balochistan 0.9 million tons, he said. However, an official of Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) told this correspondent that wheat crop had been cultivated over an area of 8.8 million hectares against the set target of 9.1 million hectares. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan provinces have missed wheat sowing target by 22.66 percent and 5.48 percent respectively.
In KPK the wheat crop was sown over an area of 0.6 million hectares against the set target of 0.76 million hectares fixed by the government. In Balochistan the crop was sown over an area of 0.36 million hectares against the target of 0.4 million hectares.
Sowing in Sindh, the second largest wheat producer after Punjab remained satisfactory as government targeted 1.2 million hectares for wheat sowing and the crop was sown over an area of 1.157 million hectares while Punjab achieved 100 percent wheat sowing target for the current season as the crop has been cultivated on over 6.677 million hectares.