LAHORE: Increase in wheat production is the need of the hour and the Punjab government is trying hard to achieve its target of 22 million tonnes this year, says provincial agriculture minister Hussain Jahanian Gardezi.

Speaking at a farmers’ convention in Sheikhupura, he said the average production of wheat in the district was 37 maund per acre, which can be increased to 40 maund through modern technology. Wheat crop was cultivated on 513,000 acres in the district which yielded 681,000 metric tons during the last year.

“I hope that this year more area will be brought under wheat cultivation in Sheikhupura district,” he said. He said the target for wheat cultivation in Punjab had been set at 16.7m acres this year. The government was taking steps to ensure food security at the national level. He said the farmers were being instructed to act on the recommendations of the Department of Agriculture, and use nutritious fertilisers and certified seeds to maximise the yield of wheat.

This year one million bags of approved varieties of wheat were being provided at a subsidy of Rs1,200 per bag and a total of 10m acres of approved varieties were being sown.

He said the National Programme for Increasing Wheat Production Per Acre with a significant amount of Rs12.59bn was being implemented and under this programme, more than Rs1bn in modern agricultural machinery and other inputs were being provided on subsidy.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2021