Thee Ministry of National Food Security and Research (NFS&R) constituted a sub-committee to monitor wheat situation in the country and directed the provincial agriculture departments to make necessary arrangements for encouraging growers so that they could bring more area under cultivation and enhance wheat productivity.
Secretary MFS&R Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri issued these directives during a meeting here on Wednesday. Provincial Food Secretaries, Managing Director Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), senior officials of the ministry, representatives from State Bank of Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) also participated in the meeting, an official said.
He said that the meeting reviewed overall wheat availability and public sector wheat stock position in the country. The meeting was informed that the country has surplus wheat stocks. The meeting decided that NFS&R in consultation with the concerned stakeholders would monitor wheat position regularly, he mentioned.
During the meeting, a sub-committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, NFS&R to monitor and review the wheat situation. The meeting also directed provincial agriculture departments to make required arrangements in consultation with the NFS&R for Rabi season 2012 for encouraging the growers to bring more area under wheat cultivation and enhancing productivity, he said.
He said that the meeting also decided that co-ordinated efforts would be made to ensure availability of agriculture inputs ie Fertiliser, herbicides and credit etc. The meeting also discussed the issue of water availability and its possible impacts on sowing of next wheat crop, he added.
The official said that NFS&R will hold meetings with provincial agriculture departments and other concerned agencies to review wheat position. The secretary NFS&R directed Agriculture Policy Institute (API) to co-ordinate with provincial agriculture departments for holding of these meeting and come up with the strategy for boosting wheat production in the country, he said.
