(25th Nov, 2015)
President Pakistan Businessmen & Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), All Karachi Industrial Alliance and First Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday lauded the plan of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to boost wheat production by providing quality seeds to planters.
The decision to provide seeds to farmers free of cost will improve income of farmers while improving food security situation, it said.
The Former Minister said that Provincial government has decided to provide free seeds to progressive farmers in 23800 villages who would multiply the seed and later sell it to others which will help replacing all the seeds being used currently.
He said that the seeds would boost average production of 30 maund per acre to 80 maund but Rs 300 million allocated for the purpose of discarding old seeds must be reviewed.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that apart from seeds other factors including pesticides, urea and climate change is also affecting the production therefore a program should be designed to get farmers educated.
He expressed concern over increased price of domestic wheat, reduction of two percent in the area under cultivation, reduced wheat exports, six percent fall in rice production and drought in Thar which has clipped production.
Moreover, the hike in price of wheat flour in the local market is highly unjustified, he said.
