October 25, 2021: The government is intended to announce minimum support price of wheat for the crops season 2021-22 prior to starting sowing season of the crop in order to bring maximum area under cultivation and encourage the farmers to ensure proper rate of their produce.
In this regard, Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MoNFSR) will submit the proposal for fixing minimum wheat support price for the crop season 2021-22 in the next meeting of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet for approval.
The aim of the initiative is to encourage local farming communities for bringing maximum area under wheat cultivation in order to tackle with the growing requirements of vital staple food grains as well as getting rid of swelling imports of food commodities and narrowing the growing trade gap, said Food Security Commissioner Dr Imtiaz Ali Gopang.
Talking to APP here on Monday, he said that the government was also intended to finalize minimum support price for wheat before the starting of sowing season for ensuring proper rate of return to the local farmers and encouraging them to bring maximum land under wheat cultivation.
All the necessary arrangements for wheat sowing have also been finalized as 638,000 metric tons of certified high yielding seed of different verities would also be provided to farmers on subsidized rates to achieve higher per-acre crop output during the season, he added.
During last year, he said that total availability of certified seed was recorded at about 300,000 tons, adding that under the track and trace policy it was enhanced and government was determined to ensure 100 percent availability of certified seeds for enhancing per-acre crop production in the country.
Meanwhile, the government was also providing Rs 8 billion subsidy on DAP fertilizers to ensure proper intake of phosphorous fertilizers during the season to obtain maximum output of the crop, adding that it was also ensuring proper supply of gas to local urea manufacturing plants to produce sufficient quantity of urea fertilizers during the season.
Besides ensuring the uninterrupted supply of gas to urea manufacturing units, 03 units were operationalized, which were closed and it would also help in fulfilling the domestic requirements of fertilizer, he added.
Dr Imtiaz further said that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan has also issued the tenders for importing about 100,000 tons of urea fertilizer to further augment the domestic stocks for ensuring sufficient supply of the input during the season.
It is worth mentioning here that Federal Committee on Agriculture in its meeting had set the wheat production targets at 28.9 million tons by cultivation of the crop over an area of 9.2 million hectares.
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