June 18, 2012

Pakistan targets corn as the future crop

The Punjab government has decided to bolster its cultivation in the state, eyeing corn as the 'future crop'.

Keeping in view the huge demand of corn for industries and the low farming inputs involved to grow the crop, the agriculture department has issued special directions to the district agriculture officers to promote its cultivation.

The department has set a target of at least 40% increase in the area under corn in the next three to four years. In Patiala district alone, the agriculture office plans to add 1,000-hectare area under the crop to the existing 959 hectares.

In a special scheme to promote corn farming from this Rabi season (mid-June), the government has decided to provide a subsidy of PKR500 (US$5.31) per acre on the seeds of corn. The seeds can be procured by the farmers from four manufacturing agencies: Pioneer, Adventa, Monsento and Segenta.

"The hybrid-variety seeds of these four companies have been tested by the department and Punjab Agriculture University. The department is advising the farmers to use these seeds," said Patiala district agriculture officer Balwinder Singh Sohal.

He said agricultural experts would give special demonstrations to farmers in the coming two months.

Corn is used in several industries, including manufacturing plastics, packing materials, insulating materials, adhesives, chemicals, explosives, paint, paste, abrasives, dyes, insecticides, pharmaceuticals, organic acids, solvents, rayon, antifreeze, and soaps.

The demand for the crop in Punjab has increased manifold in the recent years, and several of these industries have come up in the state. A sudden spurt in the use of corn products such as cornflakes and baby-corn in the cities have also added to the demand.

Agriculture experts also see the crop as a strong diversification alternative to paddy. "Corn is more soil protective because it involves lesser use of fertilisers and chemicals. Also, it has shorter ripening period, 90 days, as compared with paddy, which takes 145 days," said an expert.