LAHORE: The Agriculture Department has started a crackdown on the promoters of black grain seed with so-called extra nutritional qualities, warning growers not to pay attention to the marketing for a new wheat type.

“Farmers shouldn’t trust the misinformation regarding black wheat seed that is being circulated on social media. They should use the seed varieties the agency has authorised for cultivation this season,” a department official said on Thursday.

He said the individuals involved in the sale of illegal black wheat are the target of legal action. He says some vested interests are promoting black-coloured wheat on social media. He said the black wheat had been examined in the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute’s ISO-certified laboratory in Faisalabad and no additional nutritional properties as claimed in the advertisement were traced in it.

“Therefore, the Agriculture Department advises farmers to grow wheat using only seeds of authorised kinds that are available through the Punjab Seed Corporation and legitimate commercial seed firms.”

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2022