Growers urged to sow oilseed crops

Farmers have been advised to sow oilseed crops over maximum  area to reduce the burden of import bill.

Agriculture Deputy Director (DD) Extension Ahmed Naveed Amjad said on Tuesday that the country imported 23 million tonnes of cooking oil at a cost of Rs350 billion annually.

“And if the oil extracting crops are cultivated at a local level, the burden of import bill can be reduced to a great extent.”

He urged the farmers to sow sunflower, sesame seeds and other oilseed crops so that Pakistan could be able to produce cooking oil at a local level.

The agriculture deputy director further said the annual consumption of cooking oil in Pakistan was 29 million tonnes while its locally production was seven million tonnes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2021.