Wheat Sowing Increases 0.6% In Punjab, 0.2% In Sindh

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jan, 2017 ) : Wheat crop cultivation, a major cash crop of the season used as staple food in the country, had registered positive growth during the sowing season of 2016-17 as compared to last year.

Wheat cultivation in Punjab had witnessed about 0.6 percent increase whereas crop sowing in Sindh registered about 0.2 percent increase as compared to last crop season, said Food Security Commissioner in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Dr.

Imtiaz Ahmad Gopnag. Talking to APP here on Monday, he said wheat crop had been cultivated over 6,677 thousand hectares in Punjab province, showing an increase of 0.6 percent as compared to last year.

While, in Sindh the crop has been cultivated over 1,157 thousand hectares, showing positive growth in crop sowing when compared to the last year, he added. The wheat sowing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan was recorded at 597 thousand hectares and 362 thousand hectares, he added.

The major cash crop of the season, which fulfills the domestic consumption of the country as well to export, has been cultivated over 8,793 thousand hectares of land across the country, he remarked.

However, he said wheat cultivation during the current sowing registered negative growth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 22 percent and 5 percent in Balochistan. The final figures of crop sowing from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not received yet as it was expected that final figures would further reduce the negative growth of the provinces, he added.

He informed that declining trend in both the provinces were mainly attributed to long prevailing dry weather spell which had created drought like situation and reduced the area under wheat crop in rain fed areas of the country.

However, he said rain fed areas were very low as compared to irrigated areas and contributed only 10 percent of the total crop output in the country. Commenting on the recent rains spell of on seasonal crops, particularly wheat, he said it would bring about positive impact on the crop and growth of wheat plant would gain momentum.

Besides, rains would also bring about positive impact on other crops and vegetables and fruit orchards and boost their output, he added.