By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The National Flood Response and Coordination Center (NFRCC) was informed on Tuesday that urea/DAP was abundant for the Rabi crop in the country while wheat reserves were also sufficient for the country’s needs.
Deputy Chairman NFRCC Ahsan Iqbal also directed the provincial governments to take strict action against those hoarding Urea/DAP. The session of the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) was held here on Tuesday presided over by the Deputy Chairman of NFRCC Ahsan Iqbal, Co-Chaired by the National Coordinator NFRCC Lieutenant General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Inaam Haider Malik.
The Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security & Research told the session that there is no shortage of wheat and the current stock is sufficient for the country’s needs.
Currently, out of 6,215,327 metric tons of wheat reserves at the national level, Punjab has 3,067,435 MT, Sindh has 865,584 MT, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 96,282 MT, Balochistan has 49,630 MT and Pasco has 2,136,396 MT.
He said that the support price of wheat is determined by looking at the cost of production including seeds, and fertilizer so that the farmers get adequate profit.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries & Production told the forum that the required quantity of urea/DAP for the Rabi crop is available in the country and there is no shortage. The tender for the import of 300,000 MT is already under process.
He said that 3870,000MT of fertilizer for Rabi crops will be produced locally while at present, the fertilizer companies have reserves of 374,479 metric tons in stock.
Ahsan Iqbal said that provincial governments and district administration should play their role to ensure a timely and low-cost supply of fertilizer to farmers. He said that the concerned authorities should take strict action against the Urea/DAP hoarders.
The process of wheat seed supply for Rabi crops to the flood-affected farmers was also reviewed in the session, the forum instructed the provincial governments to ensure the establishment of facilitation centers at the tehsil/taluka level for the seed supply.
