Sufficient reserves of wheat: secretary

High-level body met to review food security situation post-floods

ISLAMABAD:

The Secretary for National Food Security and Research, Zafar Hassan, on Tuesday, said that there were sufficient strategic reserves of wheat in the country. “Currently, the public sector wheat reserves stand sufficient and the quantity is more than that of the same time last year,” assured Hassan. The comments were made during a high-level committee meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema, on food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries.

The Managing Director for the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation Saeed Ahmad Nawaz added that while the rains and floods had caused damage to the wheat stock in the government’s warehouse, “A portion of wheat, that is fit for human consumption, has been successfully separated from the damaged stock and is being supplied.” Food Security Commissioner, Waseemul Hassan apprised the forum that free wheat seeds would be delivered to farmers in the flood-affected areas by November 10th. He added that a digital application had been developed to deliver and distribute seeds among the flood-affected farmers.