MULTAN: The wheat crop for 2022-23 season has been sown on over 64pc area in rainfed areas while the wheat sowing is in progress in irrigated areas across the Punjab, a senior agriculture officer said.
He said that the Punjab Agriculture Department had also decided to print more wheat literature in regional languages to distribute it among the farmers. A senior agriculture official said that an extensive consultation was held under the chairmanship of Punjab Agriculture Secretary Ahmed Aziz Tarar and it discussed plans for bringing more area under wheat cultivation. He said that the secretary had directed the Agriculture Department for community mobilisation in irrigated areas to bring maximum area under the wheat cultivation. The province had planned to produce 21 million metric tons wheat as the wheat cultivation target for the Punjab had been set at 16.50 million acres, he added. The wheat crop was indispensable for achieving food security and in this context the role of the Punjab was vital because the province normally produced about 75 per cent of the country’s total wheat output, he added. The agriculture officer said that the government had decided to use all means and resources to bring 16.5 million acres under wheat cultivation in the province. It should be completed as soon as possible while the process of wheat cultivation should be accelerated through community mobilisation in the irrigated areas, he added. He said that the Punjab agriculture secretary had directed that the field staff of the Agriculture Department to help and guide the farmers in every possible way to fulfill the national duty of timely cultivation of wheat. Timely cultivation should be ensured so that the food security situation in the country remained satisfactory, he added. He said that the agriculture secretary had directed the officials concerned to provide free seeds of selected varieties of wheat to the farmers in the flood-hit areas while in other areas nine million bags of certified seeds of selected varieties were being given on subsidised rate. Apart from this, the support price of wheat had been increased to Rs 3,000 per 40kg even before sowing to make wheat cultivation profitable for the farmers, he added.
The agriculture secretary said that the farmer conventions were being organised in the province under the “Grow More Wheat” campaign to make the farmers aware of modern production technology while print, electronic and digital media were also being used for technical guidance of the farmers. Apart from this, short videos related to wheat production technology in Punjabi, Saraiki and Pothohari languages were also being delivered to the farmers through social media, he added. The agriculture secretary also directed that the wheat production competitions should be organised at the province, division and tehsil levels this year and prizes should also be given to encourage the successful farmers in these competitions. Additional Secretary Task Force Punjab Mohammad Shabbir Ahmad Khan, Director General Agriculture Extension Dr Anjum Ali, Director General Crop Reporting Abdul Qayyum, Director Agriculture Information Muhammad Rafiq Akhtar and others attended the meeting.
On the other hand, the growers have demanded a massive cut in fertilizer prices, particularly the price of Diammonium phosphate (DAP). The DAP is a key component used to boost wheat production, but its price has reached to Rs 14,000 per bag in the market, which has made it difficult for the farmers to use it in the required quantity.
Mepco forms body to probe financial irregularities: The Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) has constituted an inquiry commission under the chair of the Chief Engineer Planning and Engineering to formally investigate the financial irregularities in the Mumtazabad division, a Mepco spokesperson said on Saturday.
Deputy Chief Auditor, Director of M&S and Deputy Director of Finance were also included in the inquiry commission. A team of the Directorate Finance, Mepco, had identified financial irregularities.
Earlier, Mepco Chief Executive Officer Engineer Mehrullah Yar Bharwana on the initial report of the irregularity had suspended six officials, including XEN Mumtazabad Division. The suspended officials were attached to the headquarters so as not to influence the inquiry. Those suspended include Divisional Accounts Officer, Accounts Officer and other officials.
Meanwhile, the Mepco announced that the power supply will be halted at different times on Sunday due to the repair of grid stations, expansion of the system, maintenance of high-tension poles, and bifurcation of feeders in different areas of the region. The consumers can also get information from the Mepco website www.mepco.com.pk, the Facebook patch MEPCO Today and MEPCO app MEPCO LIGHT. Electricity supply will remain suspended at the following sites: 11KV Hasan Parwana, High Court, Fort Colony, Allama Iqbal, Farooqpura, Abdali Road, State Bank and Jinnah Town feeders of Multan Circle from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm, 11KV Nawan Shahr, Suraj Miani, Multan Institute of Cardiology, Nishtar 2, HTM, Akbar Road, Pepsi Cola, Children’s Complex, Liaquatabad, Bomanji Square, Air Base, Faridabad, CMH Hospital, City Center feeders from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm. During the day, from 8 am to 11 am from 11 KV High Court feeder, 11 KV Mahmud Mill of Muzaffargarh Circle, DG Khan Road, Nafis Mills, Azgard 9 Mills, Fatima Mills and Tubewell One feeders from 10 am to 4 pm.
