LAHORE: Wheat sowing in Punjab has been completed up to 95 percent against the target area of 16.89 million acres, said Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh, in a meeting with various representatives of farmer organizations on Tuesday. He hoped that wheat sowing target will be achieved during the current week.
He said wheat production target of 19.205 million tons has been fixed for the current Rabi season and to harvest a bumper wheat crop, an ‘aggressive’ campaign for plant protection with special emphasis on weed control has been launched by the department. He said Agriculture Department field staff has been directed to educate farmers about the importance and measures of weed control in wheat fields, as these may result in a decreased production by 14 to 42 percent.
While discussing governmental measures regarding wheat production, he said an effective policy has been formulated to ensure the availability of agricultural inputs and the facility of credit disbursement through One Window Operation by ZTBL. He added that campaign against sale of adulterated pesticides and black marketing of fertilizers was being executed and people involved in price hike were being treated with iron hands.
