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WEEKLY
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| Disease strikes wheat crop in Sindh |
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Thursday, April 23, 2009
By Shahid Shah
KARACHI: Wheat production in Sindh is likely to fall below target as a disease has damaged the grain in the upper parts of the province. The disease called ‘rust’ has attacked a wheat variety ‘bakhar’, causing severe damage to the grain. In some cases, the grain is missing and only the weeds are found during harvesting.
“Bakhar is a variety of Punjab, which is sown earlier than local Sindh varieties. It is vulnerable to the atmosphere of Sindh. Punjab dealers sell it to growers of Sindh on credit as well as commission basis,” said Abdul Majeed Nizamani, President Sindh Abadgar Board.
More than 50 per cent land was sown with this variety in Khairpur and Nausheroferoze districts. It was also sown in Ghotki and other upper Sindh districts as well as some parts of Balochistan. “Progressive growers oppose the cultivation of this variety,” said Nizamani.
The government has set a production target of 25 million tonnes of wheat for 2008-09 but the disease attack has put it in jeopardy. The government has so far imported around 350,000 tonnes of wheat in 2008-09.
Urea shortage would also affect production of other local varieties. Sindh has a sowing target of around one million acres.
Farmers had praised the government for increasing the wheat support price to Rs950 per 40 kg, but were worried as the last crop had paid them little and the support price was not maintained.
In Sindh, the provincial government has started a wheat procurement drive to meet the target of 1.2 million tonnes. “Bardana (empty bags) and other arrangements have been made,” an official said.
Last year, according to the Pakistan Agricultural Research Centre, wheat production was 23.5 million tonnes. Karachi requires around 5,000 tonnes of wheat daily, which is partly supplied from the Sindh government’s subsidised quota to flour mills and partly from the open market.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
