ISLAMABAD: Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhr Imam on Friday presided over a meeting of the wheat review committee on the issue of crop sowing position.

The meeting was conducted with provincial counterparts to monitor the ongoing sowing of wheat crop in the country.

Punjab Agriculture Minister Hussain Jahania Gardezi, in addition to representatives from all provinces, attended the meeting.

Mr Imam was briefed that Punjab stood at 95 per cent sowing against the target of 16.2 million acres.

Mr Gardezi informed the committee that Punjab will surpass its sowing targets. He said water availability was an ongoing limiting factor. “Punjab is working on improving its track and trace system for seeds,” he added.

Mr Imam was briefed that Sindh stands at 76pc of the assigned target of 2.97m acres, while Khyber Pakht­un­khwa stands at 75pc of the assigned target of 2.2m acres.

Similarly, Balochistan stands at 68pc of its target area of 1.36m acres.

Mr Imam said that the purpose of the meeting was to monitor the progress in order to ensure that the assigned wheat crop targets were met.

He said a few parameters had been established to ensure that wheat crop sowing was monitored effectively. He said these parameters were not limited to wheat sowing area and completion percentage of the assigned target, sowing method (Drilling or Broadcasting), quantum of fertiliser used during sowing practices (DAP and Urea), fertiliser offtake, certified seeds used, seed varieties used during sowing (old or new rust tolerant wheat varieties), availability status of herbicides and fertiliser availability and pricing status, etc.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2021