Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that the federal government will procure 1.8 million metric tons of wheat through the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) to ensure maximum benefits to farmers, Radio Pakistan reported.
He was chairing a high-level emergency meeting in Lahore today regarding wheat procurement and the difficulties being faced by farmers in obtaining gunny bags.
PM Shehbaz clearly stated that no compromise will be made on the economic welfare of farmers. He said there has been an abundant wheat harvest this year.
He directed the officials concerned to personally oversee wheat procurement opportunities.
The Prime Minister also formed a National Food Security Committee to ensure farmers’ facilitation regarding wheat procurement and address their concerns. This committee will take measures within four days to safeguard farmers’ interests.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Attaullah Tarrar, and other relevant officials, where detailed discussions were held regarding wheat procurement strategies.
Earlier. the premier took notice of farmers’ complaints and ordered the concerned government department to procure wheat from farmers immediately.
The country has missed the wheat production target]2 as the estimated production of the commodity is 29.69 million tons against the set target of 32.2 million for the Rabi Season 2023-2024 from an area of 9.6 million hectares of land.
According to provincial governments’ reports, shared during the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) meeting presided over by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) Rana Tanveer Hussain, wheat production for 2023-24 is estimated at 29.69 million tons from an area of 9.6 million hectares.
cording to provincial government estimates, out of 29.6 million tons of estimated production wheat, Punjab will produce 22.6 million tons of wheat, Sindh 4.4 million tons, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1.4 million tons, and Balochistan 1.3 million tons.[
Read the full story at the Business Recorder - Latest News website.
