Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Minister for Food Haji Qalandar Khan Lodhi has said the provincial government will procure 350,000 tons of wheat to meet the provincial needs.
He disclosed this while chairing a meeting of the working group for food department KP held at his office in civil secretariat on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Secretary Food Asmatullah Khan Gandapur, Director General Agriculture Department Iqbal Hussain, members of the working group and officers of the department concerned.
The meeting discussed matters pertaining to procurement of wheat and wheat policy for 2016, Insaf Food, Food Security programme and establishment of food stores on the lane of Pakistan Railway and presented some viable proposals for approval and taken decisions in this regard. The meeting was told that according to fixed target by the federal government, procurement of 3,50,000 tons wheat was expected in the KP at Rs. 1300 per 40 kg this year.
The meeting disclosed that government would purchase 50% yield from seeds growers, provided to them under the Insaf Food Security Programme.
Secretary Food Asmatullah Khan Gandapur briefed the meeting regarding procurement of wheat in KP and directed officers concerned to adopt transparent strategy in this regard.
Speaking on the occasion, Haji Qalandar Khan Lodhi said that various committees and monitoring teams have been constituted at provincial and district level to make the procurement of wheat a transparent process adding that no compromise would be made over the quality of wheat.