STAFF REPORT LHR: Pakistan is surely having less wheat production than in the last year, as the government has missed the wheat sowing target by 2 to 2.5 per cent in the ongoing Rabi crop season, shows an unofficial data about wheat sowing exercise.
Last year, the government had covered 8.9 million hectares for wheat sowing and the same was considered for the current year. However, the initial estimates reveal that the wheat sowing target has been missed by 2.5 to 3 per cent, which might affect the governments 25 million tons wheat production target.
Experts say that in the absence of Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture, the government failed to hold the high power Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) meeting, which was usually held by federal minister for food and agriculture before the Rabi and Kharif seasons. As a practice, this meeting sets major crops targets, availability of inputs including water, credit facility to farmers for the purchase of inputs and many more. However, after the food ministrys devolution, the committee didnt meet and the province could not present their crops estimates.
The data about missing the wheat sowing target show that the country has missed the target by 1.8 million acres only in Punjab. The experts fear that this slippery might cost the country in losing about two million tons.
Main reasons for missing sowing target are unnecessary delay in sowing; low acreage and high fertilizer prices what badly hurt the wheat production.
“Farmers are confronting severe problems while getting urea fertilizer across the country. On one side there is shortage of urea and on the other side the prices are very high,” said Shahid Gabol, an agriculture expert from Sindh, who is closing monitoring the market position in the country.
Currently, urea prices are at Rs 1,645 per 50-kg bag against last years Rs 800 price. The DAP currently values at Rs 4,000 per 50-kg bag, while last year it was Rs 2,000 per 50-kg bag.
Farmers complain that fertilizer was usually sold in the open market on black and they were compelled to pay higher prices for having other options available.
Gabol was of the view that the prevalent discouraging fertilizer market and other agriculture inputs hard availability has forced the farmers to lose interest in wheat. During the last one year, the cost of wheat production has gone up by 30 to 40 per cent only on the fertilizer and diesel heads, he explained.
Practically, it means that the farmers would be suffering a net loss of 20 to 30 percent if compared with last years price of wheat. It has simply turned the crop financially unfeasible for farmers.
“There has been a great increase in the prices of seeds, electricity and pesticides along with the other input prices, that is why the farmers are reluctant to cultivate wheat,” an official of the Pakistan Kissan Board said.
He also mentioned that the government is not even providing enough subsidies and high wheat support prices to the farmers, which keeps farmers away from wheat sowing on wider areas.
He feared that if the government does not take immediate steps then the country might face a markable wheat production shortfall.
He suggested the government to come up with an efficient and effective plan to aid the farmers so as to encourage them to continue wheat sowing on wider areas.
STAFF REPORT IBD: