Food insecurity: Balochistan is faced with food insecurity. It requires 9,00,000 metric tons of wheat annually to feed its 6.8 million population. Each year the provincial food department sets a procurement target of 50,000 MT from Naseerabad zone, but its purchases range between 20,000MT to 25,000MT. The low support price provides private traders and flour mill owners from other provinces the opportunity to lift maximum wheat from Balochistan , as they offer local growers a price which is more than the support price fixed by the government.
The federal government has fixed this year a support price of Rs510 for 40 kg of wheat. The provincial food department deems it difficult to achieve its procurement target of 50,000MT from the Naseerabad zone at this price.
“The support price at Rs510 for 40 kg would not attract the local farmers and consequently private traders and flourmill owners would exploit the situation,” said Azam Baloch, Food Secretary of Balochistan. “The support price needs to be enhanced to encourage the farming community, otherwise, the food department would have to depend on other provinces and Passco to meet its requirement at higher price”, he added
Last year, the department had been able to purchase only 17,000MT from Naseerabad zone, against the target of 50,000MT due to low support price. Wheat from Passco and other provinces is sold at expensive rates and the provincial government has to bear the transportation cost also.
The Directorate-General of Agriculture Research (cereal crops) is presently working on plan to increase wheat production by producing improved germplasm tolerant/resistant varieties of crop. The Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Quetta has developed wheat varieties suitable both for plains and uplands in the province.
“We have so far released six varieties of wheat, including Zarghoon-79, Zamindar-80, Zardana-92, Sariab-92, Zarlashta-99 and Raskoh-2005”, said Muhammad Shakeel, Deputy Director Planning in ARI Quetta. He told this scribe that the province had tremendous yield potential with four agro-ecological zones.
“We have wheat varieties yield potential of 6.5MT/hectares, but we are getting only 2.4MT/hectares”, said Malik Muhammad Iqbal Aiwan, the wheat expert in ARI Quetta. He said, “We get 95 per cent wheat from irrigated and five per cent from rain-fed areas..
The wheat sowing period in the province is from Nov 1 to 30. Scarcity of water and poor management of available water are the main issues. It has also been observed that farmers are often unable to prepare land for wheat sowing and it remains uneven due to lack of mechanisation which results in water losses and the farmers face shortage of water.
Non-availability of agricultural inputs including quality seeds at the time of sowing is yet another problem. It is further compounded by shortage of pesticides and fertilisers and their availability at exorbitant rates. Balochistan needs 33,000 metric tones of quality seeds annually. But it gets only 4,000MT of certified seeds from various sources and the rest is acquired by farmers on their own as there is no seed producing corporation in the province.
Mr. Aiwan also identified the problem of adulteration of fertilisers and pesticides.
He said, “fertilisers and pesticides available are mostly adulterated which adversely affect the yield”. Imported pesticides are adulterated, re-packed and sold under different trade marks, he added.
Suggestions: A long-term strategy is needed to be devised to make the province self-reliant in wheat.
*Some of the proposed measures are: the area under wheat cropping needs to be increased. According to an estimate, out of the total geographical area of 34.719 million hectares, only 1.989 million hectares is cultivated whereas 4.826 million hectares fall under the category of cultivable wasteland. This cultivable wasteland can be brought under plough, if the capacity of the provincial agriculture engineering department is enhanced and it is provided with additional machinery and bulldozers.
*Essential agricultural inputs to local farmers should be ensured at subsidised rates for wheat cultivation. And projects for maximisation of crop to attain food autarky should be launched.
*A seed production corporation should be established to ensure supply of quality wheat seeds to farmers. The private sector should also be involved to ensure availability of quality seeds to local wheat growers. Punitive action should be taken against those companies involved in adulteration of fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
*Locally grown wheat should be utilised to meet the local needs. Steps should be taken to check movement of wheat out of the province through purchases by private parties or smuggling across the border.
*Steps need to be taken to improve socio-economic conditions of the local farming community to achieve autarky in food grains. Problems of water shortages, frequent load-shedding and power breakdowns should be resolved. Handsome support price for wheat crop should be offered to farmers as a token of encouragement.
*Priority should be given to development of water resources to maximise crop production. Necessary measures should also be taken for construction of farm-to-market roads, establishment of agro-based industries, provision of storage and processing facilities for agro products and farm mechanization.