Wheat farmers await support price as sowing season begins

LAHORE: Farmers have started sowing wheat for the next season, but the government has yet to announce the minimum support price (MSP) for the staple crop, missing an opportunity to encourage growers to increase production.

According to a proposal prepared by the Punjab government, the minimum support price of wheat for the marketing year 2024-25 has been recommended to be enhanced by Rs 100 to Rs 200 per 40 kg, which would be a marginal increase when compared with the last year's Rs 3,900 per 40 kg price.

It is learnt that the government is in the process of announcing a uniform price of wheat for the upcoming season. A senior official of the Ministry of Food Security & Research said on the condition of anonymity that a summary has been sent for getting approval of Rs 4,000 per 40 kg price for the marketing year 2024-25.

To a question, he said, efforts are being made to announce the price as soon as possible. He agreed that this process should have been completed by now at least, keeping in view the start of sowing in the first week of October in various parts of the country.

Wheat cultivation season commences from 1st October every year in the arid zone of Punjab. According to the provincial Agriculture Department's recommendation for growers, wheat sowing in barani or rain-fed zone should be launched in the first week of October and may continue till the first week of November.

Fortunately, rains in the barani belt this year have been considered very beneficial as they helped in providing much-needed moisture for aiding optimal sowing conditions. Even for the irrigated areas of Punjab, which constitutes about 88 percent of total wheat area in the province, wheat sowing is about to start, as optimum conditions have been assessed between October 20 and November 30. According to agronomists, the timing of sowing has been one of the major deciding factors in yielding good production of the crop. They figured out that wheat must be sown at the optimum time. Delayed sowing causes a gradual decline in the yield of wheat, which is significant in terms of per day loss.

As per a study, timely sowing is an important agronomic practice that ensures normal seed germination, stable seedling establishment, and final yield formation for winter wheat. The potential impact on wheat yield due to delayed sowing has been estimated to be a one percent decline for each day. Hence, timely announcement of the wheat support price would encourage farmers to be prepared for sowing of the major crop. It also reflects how the government takes issues relating to the wheat crop.

Coming back to the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat, in comparison, neighboring India has announced an increase in MSP for the upcoming crop by 201 (Pak) rupees per 40 kg.

In Pakistan, sowing of wheat takes place from October to December and harvesting during the month of March to May. Wheat has been the most sown crop in the country---in terms of area under cultivation, and it is grown in Rabi or winter season.

The sowing of wheat takes place during October to December and its harvesting is done during March to May months. —