January 10, 2012

Low-priced cotton lessens Pakistan's wheat sowings

The wheat cultivation target in Pakistan was lowered by 2% this year due to low prices of cotton that is now considered as posing a serious threat to the agriculture industry.

According to agriculture department sources, the department had set a target of cultivation on 467,929 acres of land but it remained 464,000 acres this year. When contacted, Executive District Officer Agriculture Multan Sardar.

Muhammad Akbar Khan said that low prices of cotton had caused panic among farmers, especially small farmers. They had nothing to cultivate wheat as they faced hardships due to low prices of cotton, he added.

He said the government had announced PKR1,050 (US$11.57) per maund for wheat this year to boost wheat production in the country against PKR940 (US$10.35) last year.

He said farmers should cultivate more wheat because it was a reasonable amount announced by the government. He said the motivation could not help farmers to grow more wheat because of inflation in all fields of life and agricultural inputs.