By Arshad Ahmed Khan
KARACHI, Oct 14 (APP):With most of wheat cultivation area in Sindh drowned in the flood water, the federal and provincial governments have tightened belts to ensure timely wheat cultivation and facilitate affected farmers.Besides draining the flood water, the authorities are also planning subsidies for the farmers in provision of certified wheat seed besides ensuring agricultural inputs comparatively on cheaper rates in the calamity hit areas.
By the time, all available resources have been mobilized to dewater lands for wheat sowing as even after dewatering, the land may take some time to get ready for cultivation.
Apparently meeting the wheat crop target seems a gigantic task at a time when on one hand two districts of South Punjab and over half of the agriculture land in Sindh was under the flood water. However, the authorities are optimistic to achieve the target on ground that this time land surface would have more moisture due to flood water.
“This year we have a target of producing 28 million tonne wheat to indigenously meet our needs and save much needed foreign exchange,” remarked Food Security Commissioner, Imtiaz Ali Gopang. “We are optimistic to meet this target as this year land moisture would provide better atmosphere for sowing wheat, pulses and oil seeds.”
He said the federal government is also devising a mechanism to facilitate farmers in flood affected areas with subsidies worth around Rs five billion for provision of certified and better yielding wheat seed.
“The government has enhanced the wheat support price as well as endeavoring to minimize the impact of costly agricultural inputs,” Imtiaz Ali added. “Once the areas are dewatered, we can assume wheat sowing well in time and on more area.”
Wheat is the most significant food crops among rice, sugarcane and maize and provides for national food security. It is sown on much wider tract of land in Punjab and Sindh provinces as compared and other food crops.
Officials at Sindh Agriculture Department – Pakistan’s second largest wheat growing province – despite devastating flood are optimistic to achieve the target of producing 4.2 million tones wheat this year.
Director General Agriculture Extension Sindh Hidayatullah Chhajro said that Sindh has fixed the wheat production target of 4.2 million tonnes from an area of 1.2 million hectares for the season.
“We are hopeful that land would be ready for wheat sowing by November 15,” Chhajro said mentioning to all out efforts for clearing land from water so the sowing starts well in time.
“Expeditious dewatering of submerged areas to prepare land for wheat cultivation in flood-hit areas and proposed assistance package to farmers would hopefully yield the desired results,” he commented.
Farmers and growers have applauded the proposal of incentives for wheat growers in flood-hit areas that may also enhance the wheat cultivation area.
“The under consideration package would help the flood marooned farmers encouraging them to bring more area under wheat cultivation,” remarked Abdul Wahab Qureshi, a farmer in Tando Allahyar district of Sindh province.
“We need immediate dewatering of the flood affected land to prepare it for wheat sowing. We hope better yield this time as if flood on one hand affects people, on the other hand it adds to land fertility,” Wahab said.
Pakistan’s agriculture contributes around 24 percent to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This sector is considered as backbone of national economy as it employs almost half of the labor force directly or indirectly with country’s over 60 percent population living in rural areas.
Statistics show that during last season, the wheat production stood at around 26 million tones just close to our annual demand. The target for the next year is around 28 million tones as required after calculation on basis of per capita consumption.
According to official statistics as placed before National Assembly Standing Committee National Food Security and Research, the farmers in flood-hit areas will require more than 205,000 tonnes of wheat seed. Similarly, they might also need subsidies in fertilizers and other inputs.
Other than the fertile and routine land, there is possibility that wheat is also cultivated on silt soil after 15 to 20 days of its dewatering.
Although the nation has passed through yet another calamity in the form of flood that caused colossal damages to household and agricultural land, yet the situation would not be win-win for Pakistan in terms of food security.
With our population growing at the rate of over two percent, during next twenty years Pakistan would need much more wheat production to meet the food requirements. Otherwise, we shall be standing at the edge with fear of food shortage looming large on countrymen.
It is high time that policy makers focus the innovative methods of increasing per acre yield from the existing agriculture land besides bring more land under cultivation. Provision of water for irrigation would be another challenge and it is imperative to construct more water reservoirs to long term sustainability.