ISLAMABAD, Dec 05 (APP): Punjab has achieved 99 percent of its wheat cultivation target for 2025-26, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Director General of the Punjab Agriculture Department said. “About 99 percent of the target area in the province is now under wheat cultivation,” he told Wealth Pakistan.
He said the Crop Reporting Directorate had reported wheat sowing on 98 to 99 percent of the targeted 16.5 million acres. “Within the next few days, 100 percent of the sowing target is expected to be achieved,” he added.
Naveed said that all agricultural inputs, including fertilizers, were made available in abundance during the sowing season to facilitate farmers. He further noted that a zero-tolerance policy was being enforced against counterfeit pesticides and fertilizers.
To incentivize wheat cultivation, the Punjab government is organizing wheat production competitions in which farmers achieving higher per-acre yields will receive cash prizes worth millions of rupees, along with tractors.
At the provincial level, the first prize is an 85-horsepower tractor, the second a 75-horsepower tractor, and the third a 60-horsepower tractor. At the district level, the first prize is Rs1 million, second Rs0.8 million, and third Rs0.5 million.
Agriculture experts say weather conditions are currently very conducive for the wheat crop in Punjab, as temperatures are gradually decreasing in line with the crop’s requirements.
“So far, the weather is favorable for the cereal crop, but it is difficult to predict with certainty how the weather and other circumstances will unfold in the coming days,” Dr Anjum Ali Buttar, consultant at the Punjab Agriculture Department, told Wealth Pakistan.
He confirmed that wheat had been sown across most of the targeted area in Punjab. However, some areas where sugarcane is still standing have not yet been made available for wheat cultivation, he added.
“Hopefully, wheat sowing will be completed in these areas as well, as sugarcane crushing is now in full swing across the province,” Dr Buttar said.
He noted that the optimal sowing window in Punjab runs from November 1 to November 30 each year, though circumstances can sometimes alter this slightly.
Dr Buttar also expressed the confidence that the province would meet this year’s target of 22 million tons.