Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Wheat sowing during current Rabi Season has completed over 9 million hectares as against the set targets of 9.210 million hectares to tackle with the domestic staple food requirements as well as for exporting.
Crop cultivation during current season witnessed encouraging trend as crop sowing completed over 97.72 percent of the fixed area during Rabi 2020-21, Food Security Commissioner in Ministry of National Food Security and Research Dr Imtiaz Ahmed Gopang said on Wednesday.
He said that momentum in wheat cultivation was attributed with favorable weather conditions, availability of inputs including seeds, fertilizers and agriculture credit.
He further informed that timely interventions by the government like increase in minimum support price for growers and different incentives under Rabi Packag were the other factor that resulted in growth in crop cultivation.
Food Security Commissioner further informed that according the estimates of Provincial Crop Reporting Services wheat cultivation had been completed over 9.00 million hectares across crop producing areas in the country as against the set targets of 9.210 million hectares.
He said it was expected that sowing targets of grains for current crop season would be achieved, which help in getting maximum out put to fulfill the domestic requirements as well as for producing exportable surplus during the season.
Meanwhile, wheat sowing in Punjab had witnessed about 2.60 percent increase as compared the sowing of last year as wheat had been grown over 6.684 million hectares against the set targets of 6.560 million hectares, he added.
In Sindh, he said that crop production targets had been achieved by 94 percent as sowing completed on 1.131 million hectares against the fixed targets of 1.200 million hectares.
Wheat cultivation in Sindh during Rabi Season witnessed about 5 percent growth as compared the sowing of last season, he added.
According the initial estimates grains sowing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also grew by 1 percent respectively as grain cultivation witnessed significant growth in rain fed areas of both provinces, he added.
The wheat sowing has been completed over 80 percent of KP and 80.55 percent of Balochistan provinces, adding that 0.720 million hectares put under wheat cultivation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the set targets of 0.900 million hectares and 0.465 million hectares in Balochistan as compared the fixed target of 0.550 million hectares during the season, he added.
It may be recalled that Federal Committee on Agriculture had set wheat cultivation targets at 9.210 million hectares during crop season 2020-21 in order to fulfill the domestic requirements as well as for exporting.
