Harvesting of wheat has started from today (Tuesday) in Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur districts and farmers are getting average per acre yield from 31-32 maunds per acre against the expectation of 35 maund per acre.
Keeping in view the trend, it is expected that the province would be able to get wheat production of 18.6 million tons against target of 19.2 million tons fixed for the current year, claimed Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal while talking to Business Recorder on telephone here Tuesday.
A demonstration of growers was held led by Mughal against imposition of General Sales Tax (GST) on agricultural implements and inputs at Multan on Tuesday besides attending a one-day workshop arranged by his organisation for capacity building of cotton growers on 'how to get good cotton production.
Mughal said that during his travelling from Lahore to Multan and after receiving information from growers of Southern Punjab and from other parts of the country, he came to know that harvesting in these areas had started from today (Tuesday). He said a healthy sign of this year's crop is strong and healthy grains while another interesting feature is that gap between weak and better fields has reduced. In the past, growers used to get on average 20 maund per acre from weak wheat fields and around 40 maunds from better wheat fields. However, this year they are getting 27-28 maunds per acre from weak wheat fields and around 30 maund from better fields.
Similarly, he said according to information received from Sindh it would be having a production of 3.1 million tons against the target of 3.6 million tons, Balochistan will be having 0.75 million tons against target of 0.9 million tons while Khyber Pakhtunkhawa will meet its production target of 1.2 million tons.
Mughal further said that Pakistan might be having 23.8 to 24 million tons of national production against the target of 25 million tons. Expressing his concern over the procurement side, he said that in Sindh private sector was very active and traders and flour millers from Karachi were actively procuring wheat at Rs 925 to 930 per maund. However, he said it is seen that people with hard cash had reached South Punjab and are making deals with growers at Rs 870 to 875 per maund for this year's crop.
He said as harvesting has already started in Southern Punjab, growers could not wait to keep their stocks by April 20 and then dispose off after start of procurement by the Punjab Food Department and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO).
He said that both these organisations should immediately intervene and announce starting procurement by April 12 to save the growers from financial loss by making agreements with brokers. He also appealed to the Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to look into the matter and direct the provincial food department to immediately start procurement in South Punjab.
Meanwhile, Agri-Forum Pakistan Chairman while talking to members of the Agriculture Journalists Association (AJA) the other day claimed that Punjab province had been unable to meet agriculture production targets for three consecutive years due to ill-planning by the provincial agriculture department. The low-yields of various crops inflicted a cumulative loss of Rs 163 billion to the province.
He said that the per acre yield of cotton has come down to 19 maunds from 26 maunds over the last three years while production of wheat stands at 25 maunds per acre against 32 maunds in the year 2008.
Ibrahim Mughal said that provision of subsidised agricultural inputs in the Indian Punjab had turned farming into a profitable profession while increase in the prices was discouraging farming community in Punjab. He said that government would neither be able to achieve the cotton production target next year nor the procurement of wheat produce is possible this year. He said that a technocrat should head the provincial agriculture and food departments in the larger interest of agriculture sector as a generalist can only spoil the broth.