Under scoring the importance of the agriculture sector for Punjab government, Aulakh said that the sector is accorded top priority because it employs almost 45 per cent of the labour force, which goes up to 65 per cent in rural areas.
Punjab accounts for almost 76 per cent of the country’s total wheat production, informed the minister, while sowing has already commenced in the province, according to a release issued by media liaison unit of Punjab agriculture department on Monday.
Wheat is expected to be sown over an area of 22.34 million acres across the country this rabi season, of which 16.88 million acres or 75.6 per cent will be sown in Punjab, informed Aulakh.
With regards to production, Punjab produced 17.9 million tons of wheat last year while the target for this year has been set at 19.205 million tons. As much as 90 per cent of the wheat production comes from irrigated areas while the rest comes from rain-fed areas in Punjab, added Aulakh.
Punjab government recommended the federal government to export two million tons of wheat so that the government does not run out of space for wheat storage and earn foreign exchange at a time when prices of wheat have gone up in the international market, added Dr Mubarak Ali, chief executive Punjab agriculture research board.
Meanwhile, 375 storage facilities are available in Punjab to store wheat while new modern storage facilities are being built to enhance storage capacity by 300,000 tons, said Dr Anjum Ali Buttar, Director General Agriculture Extension and Adaptive Research.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2010.
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