Provincial Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi has said that wheat production in Punjab has increased by 1.5 mounds per acre this year and hoped that it will be doubled by next year.
He stated this while addressing the farmers’ convention at Iqbal Auditorium jointly organised by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab Agricultural Extension Department and Fatima Group. He said that the government was taking all possible measures to make agriculture profitable, ensure food security and increase per acre production that will help alleviate poverty at the grassroots level and open new avenues for economic growth.
He said that agriculturists, farmers and scientists would have to make collaborative efforts to increase production. He said that Faisalabad has a prominent position in the field of agricultural sciences, adding that the agricultural scientists of the city have rendered immense services for the development of agriculture.
He said that due to the farmer-friendly policies of the government and the hard work of the farmers, a record production of 16 million metric tonnes of wheat was achieved in Punjab last year while the production target of wheat this year has been set at 22 million metric tonnes.
Agriculture Secretary Asad Rehman Gilani said that a subsidy of Rs12 billion was being given to farmers for the supply of fertilizer. He said that the supply of certified high yielding seeds to the farmers would be ensured. He said that a farmer in the wheat production competition last year achieved 94 mounds per acre. He said that they had recommended the federal government to increase the support price of wheat.
UAF Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqbar Ahmad Khan said that “our yield per acre was very low due to the traditional method of the farming community.” If the recommendations of agricultural scientists are followed, the production can be doubled, he added. He said that adoption of modern trends to make agriculture a profitable business is the need of the hour.
