Shortage of wheat feared next year
The Advisor to the Sindh Chief Minister on Agriculture Manzoor Hussain Wassan has acknowledged that shortage of wheat may occur next year if the crop production remains below average.
Talking to media persons at ‘Sarsabz Kissan Convention’, organised by Sindh Agriculture Department in Hyderabad on Thursday, Wassan said that wheat could not be sown on around one million acres of land.
“The crop has been sown on just 2.4 million acres,” he added. He said the issue of food shortage may crop up in the event of wheat scarcity. He urged the farmers to make efforts to ensure maximum sowing of the crop to counter the food shortage.
According to Wassan, the catastrophe ravaged 100 per cent cotton and 75 per cent rice crops in addition to extensively damaging sugarcane, tomato, chilli and other crops. The monsoon rains and floods destroyed 4.6 million acres of agricultural land in the province, he added.
The advisor mentioned that the provincial government is providing Rs5,000 per acre to the affected farmers so that they can purchase seeds.
He said the government has increased the wheat procurement price to Rs4,000 per maund with the aim of assuring the farmers that they will get good price for their produce.
He informed that the government will release the first installment of Rs50,000 to the affected people for the reconstruction of their houses for which a total of Rs300,000 will be released to each household.
He admitted that many parts of Sindh were flooded because of the poor drainage system.
Wassan apprised the media that the government has distributed around two million tents and 3.5 million ration bags among the flood affected people.
He admitted that the problem of the sale of adulterated fertiliser existed and assured that the government is taking action.
Commenting on the country’s political situation, he believed that the general elections will take place by the end of May or early June next year.
Wassan said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has lost his popularity. “Now he will have to go back to play cricket.”
Secretary agriculture, Aijaz Ahmed Mahesar said the government could not provide wheat seeds to the farmers because the collection of the data of the affected farmers was a lengthy exercise and the government was pitted in a race against time. However, he said, the government is now providing Rs5,000 per acre to the farmers.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2022.