November 09, 2008	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 10, 1429

HARIPUR, Nov 8: Following ban on the export of wheat to NWFP from Punjab, the local farming community was exposed to shortage of seed, thus jeopardising the efforts of the agriculture department trying to bring maximum cultivable area under wheat crop during the ongoing Kharif season, official sources told Dawn here on Saturday.

However, agriculture department officials claimed that they were utilising their efforts to arrange the required quantity of seed for local farmers. The wheat sowing season usually starts in Haripur during the first week of October and is almost completed by the 15th of October, while the late sowing in barani areas extends to 15th of November.

Haripur district has 85,055 hectares of total cultivated area out of which 32,773 hectares is canal irrigated and 52,282 hectares is barani. The staple crop of wheat is sown at 81 per cent of the total cultivated area or 69,199 hectares every year, for which about 7,000 tonnes of seed is required, sources said.

To meet the need of the local farmers the agriculture department arranges a quantity of about 2,000 tonnes of seed from its own sources including Seed Corporation of Pakistan, while the farmers on their own fulfill the rest of the requirement.

However, owing to the ban on the export of wheat seed to NWFP by the Punjab Government the department had so far distributed about 50 tonnes of seed among its progressive farmers and the wheat sowing season was about to close in certain areas by the end of next week, farmers said.