LAHORE: Punjab seems to have ended up with 250,000 tonnes of gram this year against 164,000 tonnes last year – an improvement of 52 per cent but it still lags far behind provincial history and potential when it produced 825,000 tonnes.

Though the province had sown gram on 1.9 million acres this year and was expecting much better results, weather impacted the crop disastrously. Punjab had given a possible production figure of 285,000 tonnes to the Federal Committee on Agriculture at its meeting on March 31, according to the Punjab Crop Reporting Service.

Long dry spells between February and March seem to have played much more havoc with yield than what the provincial planners had expected.

With national consumption hovering well over 650,000 tonnes, the country would end up importing more than 60 per cent of national requirement at the cost of precious foreign exchange and the dollar dominance over rupee would take its price out of reach of many millions, fears Mohammad Ali – a gram trader from the city. In fact, its price has already spiralled out of fiscal reach of many. Imports at current dollar-rupee parity would only help worsen the situation.

Country may need to import 60pc more than harvest

“The gram is mainly sown in rain-fed areas of five district – Bhakkar, Jhang, Mianwali, Khushab and Layyah – of Punjab where its dependence on rains is total,” explains an employee of the agriculture department. This year, the crop germination was much better as January rains had a very positive impact early on. This better germination also created early optimism among policy makers and farmers alike. They were expecting average yield going beyond three maunds per acre against 2.09 maunds per acre last year. However, it did not turn out be the case, he laments.

Since crop is sown on sand dunes of these districts, rains and their pattern become crucial factors for final figure, says Dildar Haider – a farmer from Bhakkar area. Some 40 per cent of crop on the dunes becomes a decisive factor. Punjab produces 87 per cent of national crop, and 96pc of it is sown in the rain-fed (barani) areas. Thus, its dependence on the atmospheric moisture is total. What makes moisture even more important is the type of soil which is grossly uneven in all gram producing districts.

Almost 40 per cent of soil comprises raised dunes and 60 per cent flat soil. If crop on the dunes performs better, the province normally has good crop. However, this year, the crop suffered both on dune tops as well as in flat areas because it did not rain during February and March; the meteorological gurus had predicted five spells of rain during March but some of the gram areas received only one, he explains.

The gram importance for the poor, especially the urban ones, can hardly be exaggerated, says Khalid Jamshaid, a dietitian from the city. For urban poor, it is still the cheapest source of wholesome diet as it contains 22 per cent protein, 63 per cent carbohydrates, 46 per cent starch, five per cent fats, seven per cent fiber and six per cent sugar. Its importance becomes further clear when considered in the backdrop that out of total pulses requirements, gram accounts for 85 to 90 per cent, Khalid concludes.

Dildar Haider suggests that Punjab needs to get its gram act together and do so quickly. What makes investment in crop doubly important is the fact that its per acre yield has actually gone down in the last seven decades. At the time of independence, per acre yield was over six maunds, which has now dipped to less than three. It is because the crop seed is old and has lost vigour and it is now vulnerable to almost all kinds of pest attacks, taxing the yield heavily. It should better be taken care of, he says.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2022