RAHIM YAR KHAN, April 3: Reports of early wheat harvest from across the district suggest better yield this year compared to the last season.

Wheat was cultivated on 780,000 acres in the district. Food department's procurement target from the area is almost 200,000 tons.

A farmer of Patan Manara said his produce was 30 to 38 maunds per acre against last year's 19 maunds. A jubilant katcha area farmer said he had yielded 55 maunds per acre.

When the harvesting began in the last week of March, the wheat price in the open market was Rs450 to 460 per maund, which had now dropped to Rs355 per maund.

Grain market merchant Muhammad Shahid said the yield was much better than the last year and the grain was also healthy. He said farmers were preferring to sell wheat in the market but the rate had suddenly declined.

A farmer from Sadiqabad said that last year they were offered poor returns because Sindh farmers had marketed their produce in the district.

District food controller Siraj Mazari said the department had set up 21 procurement centres in Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad and Liaqatpur tehsils while Passco would procure wheat from Khanpur.

He said that this year Sindh had banned wheat movement and as such local farmers would get better price.