CHAKWAL: News of girls clinching top positions in schools or colleges exams are common occurrences in the country but in Chakwal an 18-year-old girl’s guidance led her father to bag the first prize in a wheat yield competition conducted by the Punjab Agriculture Department.

Haji Mohammad Ameer Khan 62, a resident of Karhan village, stunned rest of the farmers in the district by producing 49.18 maunds of wheat from one acre despite drought-like situation as no rain occurred during the entire winter season.

Mr Khan not only got the highest produce in the district but also won Rs1 million as prize by clinching the first position.

Interestingly his maternal cousin, Haji Rub Nawaz, from the same village bagged second position by producing 44.55 maunds and won Rs800,000 while Haji Akbar Hussain, a resident of Thirpal village, secured the third position by getting wheat yield of 41.7 maundsand was awarded a cash prize of Rs500,000.

In the newly-established Talagang district, Arshad Mehmood from Nakka Kahoot village grabbed the first position by producing 47.69 maunds of wheat from one acre while Ameer Hussain from Wanhar village and Wajahat Haider from Mogla village stood at second and third positions by producing 27.43 and 26.37 maunds of wheat from one acre, respectively.

The three farmers got their cheques amounting to Rs1,000,000, Rs800,000 and Rs500,000 from Assistant Director Agriculture Ziaur Rehman.

“Due to prolonged drought the average wheat production in the district remained 16 maunds per acre but despite this situation these three farmers did a wonder by producing high yield," Deputy Director Agriculture Syed Kazim Hussain Shah said while talking to Dawn.

“The credit of my success goes to my daughter who guided me with what wheat seed variety was to be cultivated and what fertilisers and sprays were to be applied,” Mohammad Ameer Khan told Dawn at his residence in Karhan.

Mr Khan’s daughter Ayesha Fatima has just completed her intermediate and is now vying for admission to a leading university in Islamabad to pursue a degree in physical therapy.

“Last year my father could not get the first position. My grandfather Haji Sher Zaman was a famous farmer. This thing pained me that why couldn’t we retain the fame earned by my grandfather,” Ayesha Fatima said.

She added that she asked her father to work hard.

“I first searched from the internet the top wheat seed varieties fit for our pluvial area and opted for Arooj. Then I searched for the best sprays of herbicide, pesticide and those meant for increasing the yield," she said, adding that throughout the season she kept on guiding her father in the process.

Mr Khan is a sub-inspector in National Highways and Motorway Police and lives in Islamabad along with his two daughters and wife.

“Every week I come to my village to till my land,” he said.

Sharing his journey of highest wheat production, Mohammad Ameer Khan said first he ploughed his field of 3.5 acres with chisel plough followed by mould-board plough called 'Raja Hall' in local parlance and then he sprinkled eight trollies of manure.

“Afterwards I kept on tilling my land with chisel ploughs whenever the land offered suitable moisture. “Whenever I tilled the land with chisel ploughs, I tilled it twice at one time,” he said, adding that before three days of cultivation, he sprinkled one and half bag of Urea fertiliser in the whole field and at the time of cultivation he used three bags of diammonium phosphate (DAP) along with three bags of wheat seed.

“I applied first spray for weedicide after 40 days of sowing and then I kept on using different kinds of sprays till harvesting," he maintained and added that he spent Rs272,000 on wheat cultivation and earned almost Rs1,002,500 as he got total yield of 175 maunds plus wheat husk of more than 100 maunds.

current price of wheat in Chakwal is Rs2,800 to Rs3,000 while the wheat husk is sold at Rs1,000 to Rs1,200. But Mr Khan would sell his wheat as seed at the time of cultivation in the upcoming season at the rate of Rs5,000 per maund easily as at that time the price of 50kg wheat seed is expected to be from Rs7,500 to Rs8,000.

Haji Rub Nawaz, the cousin of Mr Khan, also offers an inspiring story of his commitment and dedication to farming.

“I am a member of the mosque committee and in March, before the wheat harvesting, the other committee members looked worried as they did not have enough funds to pay the wages to the prayer leader and the servant of the mosque. I asked them that I would pay them Rs100,000 if I got the first position in the wheat yield competition, Rs80,000 and Rs50,000 in case of second and third position,” he said.

Rub Nawaz has now donated Rs80,000 to the mosque committee as he won Rs800,000.

He also got first position five years ago and at that time he won a case prize of Rs300,000. Mr Rub Nawaz who received Rs270,000 as 30,000 was deducted in tax, gave Rs135,000 to a poor widow of the village.

“There are 365 days in a year and I visit my land every other day as I adore it,” he said, and urged other farmers to follow suit.

Talking to Dawn, Assistant Director Agriculture Department Malik Waseem Abbas while congratulating Ameer Khan and other farmers said they really worked hard and got high yield despite low rain.

“Such wheat yield competitions are part of Punjab government’s revolutionary steps meant to boost the agriculture sector," Deputy Director Agriculture Syed Kazim Hussain Shah added.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025