ISLAMABAD: The Natio­nal Assembly’s Standing Com­mittee on National Food and Security on Tues­day decided to take up the issue of potato crisis with the prime minister because potato growers in central Punjab have been facing a situation that may force them to switch over to other crops in the next season.

A committee meeting held at the National Agricul­ture Research Centre under the chairmanship of Rao Ajmal Khan was of the view that the prime minister would be briefed on the current potato crisis and proposals would be submitted for resolution of the issue.

Minister for National Food Security and Research Mehboob Sultan attended the meeting and expressed the hope that in a short meeting with the prime minister, the issue would be resolved.

He said that potato growers were not getting the cost of inputs and “we request the prime minister to give some time to committee members for the resolution of the crisis”.

Secretary of National Food Security Mohammad Hashim Popalzai informed the meeting that 160,000 tons of potatoes would be exported in March for which export orders had been received.

The meeting was further informed that potato growers in central Punjab, particularly in Khanewal, Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Okara being the largest areas of potato cultivation, were badly affected and there is need to solve the issue on priority basis.

The Managing Director of Pakistan Agricultural Storages and Services Corporation, Mohammad Khan Khichi, informed the meeting that PASSCO had built 20 storage depots over the past three years while 37 others were under construction. He said that PASSCO is operating 229 purchase centres in 15 zones.

He said that at present PASSCO had 1,456,000 tons of wheat stock which was being replenished at a fast pace. The wheat procurement target set for the next season is 1.1 million tons, he said.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2019