Sindh has adequate wheat stock to meet existing demand

Sindh province has adequate wheat stock to meet the existing demand till the arrival of next crop, traders said on Monday. Talking to Business Recorder they said that presently Sindh has some 0.113 million tons wheat stock in its godowns and recently the Sindh food department has also issued delivery orders of over 100,000 tons wheat quota to flour mills across the province. This quota will be sufficient for next 15 days.
"New wheat crop is almost ready in several parts of Sindh and regular supply is likely to arrive in next few days as harvesting has already begun in some districts", said Hashim Sharja Wala, a leading wheat trader. There is neither panic nor wheat crisis in the market as sufficient wheat stock is available in the province. Even wheat grain prices are stable at Rs 39,000 per ton from last one month, he added.
Presently, wheat is being traded at Rs 39,000 to Rs 39,250 per ton in open market, while Sindh food department is supplying commodity to flour mills at a price of Rs 30,000 per ton, he mentioned. With the arrival of new crop, wheat grain prices in the domestic market are likely to face a drastic cut in next few weeks; he said and added that wheat harvesting has started in some parts of the province, where wheat crop is ready. However, arrival will increase after harvesting and thrashing in the belt of Dadu and MirpurKhas, Hashim mentioned.
He said that some trucks of new wheat crop have also arrived in the market and commodity was traded at Rs 35,000 per ton, due to some moisture. "We are expecting wheat prices will decline to Rs 35,000 in next 10 day, when proper supply of new wheat crop will begin", Hashim said.
Sindh government has planned to procure some 1.3 million tons this year to build its strategic reserves and Sindh food department has taken several steps to avoid any speculation in the market.Sindh government may impose an inter-district ban on wheat movement aimed to complete its procurement, he added.
"Presently, prices are higher than wheat support price of Rs 1200 per maund or Rs 30,000 per ton, but I m sure that wheat prices will gradually decline after arrival of new crop in the market and price is expected to be around Rs 30,000 to Rs 31,000 per ton by the end of this month", Hashim said.
Talking about the Thar famine, he said, this is only due to mismanagement and distribution/ transportation issues and there is no shortage of commodity in province. He said that as per food department they have distributed over thousands of wheat bags among masses of Thar in the last three days.
He said that during the last crop season, Sindh has failed to achieve its procurement target and some 1.05 million ton wheat was procured as against target of Rs 1.3 million tons. However this year, wheat procurement target will be achieved as Sindh will have a bumper wheat crop.
Akhtar Hussian, a leading flour miller, said that presently mills are getting some 300 bag per day from food department and there is no wheat crisis in the province. He said that new crop will arrive in the market from March 15 and after that stock position will further improve.

Source: Business Recorder

Pakistan and India trade to be promoted by protecting rights of stakeholders

Trade between Pakistan and India should be promoted by protecting the rights of stakeholders particularly the growers. It was recommended by the roundtable conference titled "improving economic governance in agricultural sector through trade liberalisation between Pakistan and India" arranged at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
The recommendation was made by the UAF Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Pro Chancellor Syed Babar Ali, MNA and Parliamentary Secretary Rana Afzal, Farmers Association Pakistan President Tariq Bucha and other progressive farmers were present on the occasion. While informing the audience about recommendations, the Vice Chancellor suggested the identification of the seasonal window for the commodities.
He quoted the examples of potato which has peak season in August and September in India and in Pakistan it has the peak season in October and November. The conference also recommended that trust deficit between the two countries needs to be bridged through dialogue. The strengthening of the domestic production market is also essential to tap the potential of the sector.
The Vice Chancellor said India is the big market of around one billion of the people. He said the trade with the seasonal window would open up new chapter of progress. He also sought the policy interventions in this regard to flourish the sector in Pakistan. He said India is providing the highest subsidy on the electricity. Even in the Indian Punjab, the subsidy on tube wells is amounting to Rs 1trillion. Syed Babar Ali said we need to tap the potential in flourishing the agricultural sector by promoting the state-of-the-art technologies in the country.
He said China has made tremendous work in the garlic. Our country can do the same. We have to get the benefit from others experience. He said 70 percent of the population is directly or indirectly linked to the agricultural sector that must be strengthened. He also suggested setting up entrepreneurship cell at the UAF in order to equip the youth with the skill and to transform the knowledge into goods and services.
MNA Rana Afzal said the Government is making all-out efforts to strengthen the agricultural sector in the country. He said the recommendations to be made before the government. He said agriculture is the backbone of our economy, contributing 21 percent in the Gross Domestic Product. Tariq Bucha urged the government to take the tangible steps to address the issues of the farming community. He said at least ten percent of the budget must be allocated for the agricultural sector. He said in the process of trade policy formulation, the farmers must be taken on board. ORIC Director Professor Dr Asif Ali, Dr Abdul Ghafoor, Dr Waseem Ahmad, Dr Mubashair Mehdi, Director Ayub Agriculture Research Institute Dr Abid Mehmood, Aiwan-e-Zarat President Dr Sadique Naseem and others also attended the meeting.

Source: Business Recorder

Growing Wheat of Your Own

If you’re deep into horticulture and self-direction, sooner or later you’ll need to do growing wheat. Among alternative advantages, it permits you to urge far from the business method that grows a superbly sensible grain, then scrapes off the bran, peels out the germ, bleaches the flour, and sells all those things back to you individually.

If you try, you'll discover wheat is simple to grow nearly anyplace within the u.  s., while a wide-row crop in your garden. One gardener in VT attests to having planted thirty pounds of winter wheat on simple fraction of Associate in Nursing acre and harvest 250 pounds of grain in July. On a somewhat smaller scale, although you have got a curtilage that’s twenty feet by fifty feet, you'll plant six pounds of wheat and harvest nearly fifty pounds of grain.

Before you sky-high conceive to place in enough wheat to form all of your bread for consecutive year, begin with alittle trial space the primary year. This check run can enable you to be told however the grain behaves, what its cultivation issues area unit, however long it takes you to handle it, however it’s stricken by varied climate conditions, and more.
Different Types of Wheat

After you’ve determined what proportion wheat to plant, you’ll have to be compelled to decide which kind to plant. It’s simple to urge confused concerning sorts of wheat. Winter wheat is planted within the fall and harvested from period within the South to late July within the North. Spring wheat is planted within the spring and harvested within the fall. each spring and winter wheat area unit additional divided into wheat (lacking a high protein content and used primarily for pastries and crackers), durum wheat (with a high protein content and used for breads), and corn (used for pasta). the variability you choose can rely on wherever you reside. seek advice from your native cooperative consultant to be told that varieties area unit best for your region. (To realize sources for little quantities of wheat seeds, strive our Seed and Plant Finder, or seek advice from your native farm stores.)
Planting Wheat

Plant winter wheat in fall to permit for 6 to eight weeks of growth before the soil freezes. this enables time permanently root development. If the wheat is planted too early, it's going to smother itself the subsequent spring and it may well be susceptible to some late-summer insects that won’t be a problem within the cooler fall weather. If winter wheat is planted too late, it'll not overwinter well.

Spring wheat ought to be planted as early because the ground is worked in spring. Do the initial tilling within the fall, then until and sough the spring. to confirm Associate in Nursing equally distributed crop, find out the quantity of seed you’ll would like, divide it into 2 piles, and broadcast one half in one direction, like from east to west. Then broadcast the rest from north to south. A cyclone crank seeder can do a good job, however broadcasting by hand is ok for alittle plot. you furthermore mght will plant it in rows like alternative crops.
Cover the seed by rototilling or raking it in to a depth two|of two} to 2 one⁄2 inches for winter wheat and one to 1 1⁄2 inches for spring wheat. For best results, roll or otherwise firm the bed to confirm sensible seed-soil contact.
Harvesting Grain

As you admire your wheat stand, you’ll notice in solstice (later for spring wheat) that the colour of the stalks turns from inexperienced to yellow or brown. The heads, serious with grain, tip toward the planet. this suggests it’s time to check the grain. opt for a head, detect a number of grains, and pop them into your mouth. If they're soft and soggy, the grain isn't nevertheless prepared. Keep testing. someday the grains are firm and firm, and it'll be time to reap.

At harvest, however {should you|do you have got to|must you} cut the wheat? If you have alittle enough plot, you’ll simply snip the heads of wheat off the stems. It goes quickly if your wheat field is not any larger than concerning six feet wide by twenty five feet long.

Using a scythe. If you prefer the stylish approach of doing things and area unit progressing to harvest a bigger quantity of grain, you would possibly use a scythe and cradle. The cradle could be a series of long wood fingers mounted on top of the scythe blade. The scythe cuts the wheat, so the cradle carries the cut wheat to the tip of every swing and deposits it during a neat pile, stacked with all the heads sorted along. you'll cut with the scythe alone, however you'd pay plenty of your time finding out the cut wheat and composition it for easier handling.

Harvesting with a edge tool. Another potential tool for cutting little amounts of grain is that the edge tool. It’s a matter of grab and cut, grab and cut. Hold a few of wheat in your hand and swing the edge tool together with your right to chop the plants at nearly ground level. It’s potential to kneel or crouch in numerous positions to avoid obtaining too tired. As you narrow handfuls, lay them in little piles with all the heads pointed within the same direction.

Binding sheaves. consecutive step is to bind the grain into sheaves, every concerning twelve to fourteen inches in circumference — a bunch you'll hold well in your hands. Bind an equivalent day you narrow the wheat. It’s nice to own 2 folks taking turns cutting and binding. you'll bind with wire or baler’s twine or maybe with a number of the wheat stems, twisting them during a approach that holds the bundle firm.

Curing the grain. Stack sheaves upright during a well-ventilated, dry location safe from grain-eating animals. Our ancestors stacked sheaves to form shocks within the field, however with little quantities, it’s simple to bring the sheaves in out of the weather. The grain has been cured once it's laborious, shatters simply, and can't be damaged together with your fingernail.

Threshing. currently it’s time to thresh the grain — to separate the straw and chaff from it. you'll set about this in any variety of the way. One technique is flailing. A flail consists of 1 piece of wood concerning three feet long — the handle — connected with a animal skin thong to a shorter piece concerning a pair of feet long. The shorter piece is flung at the heads of grain repeatedly, shattering a number of heads whenever. If you're mistreatment this technique, you'll expect to provide concerning three pounds of wheat in twenty to twenty five minutes. That’s slow work. Also, there’s a trick to learning to swing the tail while not rapping yourself on the top.
Another way is to beat the individual sheaves against the within of an oversized, clean dustbin. In 2 hours a thresher will turn out a will filled with wheat, however with plenty of chaff and even solid heads in it. this can be quicker than flailing, however produces additional detritus that has got to be separated from the wheat.

Winnowing. the same old technique for sifting is gushing the grain from one instrumentality to a different, property either the wind or the breeze from an electrical fan push the lighter chaff out of the grain. Repeat the method a number of times to urge the grain as chaff-free as potential.
The Best ways that to Store Wheat

The approach you store grain depends on what proportion you’re managing. Storing it properly means that protective it from heat, light, and wetness, still as from rats, mice, and insects. you'll keep alittle quantity of grain in plastic luggage within the electric refrigerator much forever, however it takes additional effort to store larger amounts.

The general recommendation is to store laborious winter or spring wheat with but a ten % wetness content — a wetness level that's really tough to achieve while not further drying (see below). Five-gallon metal or plastic buckets with friction lids area unit ideal for storing all grains. 100 pounds of grain is keep in 3 of those containers. (Garbage cans don't seem to be sensible for storage as a result of creating them bug-proof is tough.)

These cans forestall insects from going in the grain, however you want to take another step to eliminate any eggs or larvae already within the grain. an easy technique is to heat the grain within the kitchen appliance for half-hour at one hundred forty degrees Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, that conjointly can facilitate cut back the wetness content. If you’re undecided concerning the accuracy of your oven’s thermostat, check it with Associate in Nursing kitchen appliance thermometer: temperatures beyond one hundred forty degrees could injury the grain.
Grinding Grain

Some books counsel employing a liquidizer to grind the grain, however that doesn’t work well. You won’t be ready to create nice, fine flour — solely a rough meal with particles of uneven size. At first, shopping for a reasonable, hand-cranked mill sounds right and romantic — back to nature all the way! however what proportion flour area unit you progressing to be grinding? You’d need to grind all afternoon to urge enough flour for 6 loaves of bread, and that’s apt to discourage you from baking in the slightest degree when the primary few tries. mistreatment an electrical grinder could be a higher thanks to grind giant quantities. once you’re choosing a mill, raise the subsequent questions:

• can it handle {the quantity|the quantity|the number} of flour you expect to grind during a affordable amount of time?
  
• will it grind while not heating the grain?
  
• will or not it's adjusted to grind totally different degrees of coarseness?
  
• Is it simple to use and clean?
   
• can replacement components be on the market if you would like them?
     
• Is it factory-made by a honored company which will honor the warranty?

When grinding grain, avoid the temptation to grind giant amounts for future use. Grind what you would like for maybe every week, Associate in Nursingd refrigerate the unused portion in an airtight instrumentality. Whole grains is keep for months while not loss of style or nutrition, however this can be not true of whole grain flour.

Kharif season: fertiliser makers not in favour of urea import

Domestic chemical makers don't seem to be in favour of giant import of carbamide for Kharif season as they believe that spare stocks are obtainable for the approaching crop season. The Ministry of Industries & Production within the last meeting of the chemical Review Committee (FRC) had determined to import zero.125 million tons for Kharif season and therefore the chemical business supported the choice.

This acquisition are created against a $50 million loan facility recently approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) specifically for the acquisition of carbamide fertilizer.

As per estimates of chemical makers of West Pakistan consultive Council (FMPAC) - a representative body of native fertilizer makers - around three.01 million heaps of carbamide stocks, as well as domestic production and carryover stocks from Rabi season, are obtainable within the country for the approaching crop season against a most demand of two.8 to 2.9 million tons.

The country would have some zero.370 million heaps of carbamide stock at begin|the beginning} of Kharif season that may start from Gregorian calendar month one, 2014. calculable production from domestic fertilizer plants throughout the Kharif season can stay a pair of.64 million tons (with gas offer on SNGPL in line with the last year) which means there would be around three.01 million heaps of carbamide obtainable within the country against a requirement of two.8 to 2.9 million tons. As a result, the carryover stock at the tip of Kharif 2014 is probably going to be zero.21 to 0.110 million tons, a political candidate of FMPAC aforesaid.

He aforesaid recent demand of two.9 million tons continues to be more than needs reported  by provinces. "Fertiliser plants will manufacture the specified and spare carbamide for domestic consumption by guaranteeing the required gas offer. The domestic production won't need precious interchange and billions of rupees grant, being spent on import on carbamide," he added.

The business sources aforesaid the govt call to import carbamide and distribute it through National chemical selling restricted (NFML) has additionally been politically motivated  within the past so this observe ought to be discourage by the PML-N government. The centralized is already considering shifting the foreign carbamide distribution from NFML to non-public sector so as to confirm clear and timely distribution of foreign carbamide, they added.

Sources aforesaid some quarters ar proposing an enormous import of zero.7 million heaps of carbamide import for Kharif season. However, they believed that the planned conceive to import zero.7 million heaps of carbamide is contrary to the fact on ground and therefore the call can drain around $266 million from the funds, that is already facing a crisis of depleting forex reserves.

According to sources, this estimate of foreign carbamide has been calculated at a median $380 per ton price and Fright (C&F). On this basis, the landed price involves Rs a pair of,900 per fifty kilo bag as well as port incidentals and native freight, etc. To sell this foreign carbamide at a fix value of Rs one,786 per bag, the govt would ought to offer a further grant of roughly Rs sixteen billion on zero.7 million tons foreign carbamide.

Domestic fertilizer makers urged the govt to require any call on carbamide import whereas keeping in sight this stock handiness position. carbamide is foreign to supply profit to farmers, however in point of fact, farmers don't get any advantage of foreign carbamide and later grant by the funds, they added. Despite the country's current carbamide production capability of six.9 million tons, that is world's seventh largest, West Pakistan spent over $1.5 billion on carbamide import in last three years and additionally paid a grant of over Rs sixty billion on foreign carbamide.

^{Source: Business Recorder}

Wheat output likely to remain below projected target this year

Pakistan's wheat production is anticipated to stay regarding twenty four.5 to twenty five million tons this year, which is 0.25-0.75 million tons wanting the projected target of twenty five.25 million tons, Ministry of National Food Security and analysis officers aforementioned.

A senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and analysis told Business Recorder, here on Wed that Asian nation is in an exceedingly position to supply bumper wheat crop this year however it depends on atmospheric condition in March: if the temperature remains average the country's wheat output is anticipated to cross twenty five million tons, however if temperature is on top of the common for the year wheat output is probably going to stay twenty four.5 million tons.

"This year wheat growers have brought nearly twenty one million acres underneath wheat cultivation, that is sort of one thousand thousand acres but the past year. In arid areas, a decline within the space underneath wheat cultivation, low tide provides and fertiliser shortages square measure probably to cut back the wheat production, however on national level we tend to predict a healthy wheat crop", the officers aforementioned.

"In Rabi season we've got 2 major crops wheat and gram, wheat production is probably going to cross twenty five million tons if atmospheric condition stay favourable, whereas gram production is anticipated to be 550,000 tons this year against set target of 600,000 tons" he added . Gram is especially cultivated in Bhakkar, Layyah, Khushab and Mianwali districts, whereas wheat is being cultivated across the country tho' geographical region is that the major wheat manufacturing province, followed by Sind and KPK.

"Pakistan wants around 900,000 loads of gram to feed its population on low-cost macromolecule, however the country is at the present manufacturing solely 550,000 loads of gram. within the past, Asian nation was manufacturing nearly 800,000 loads of gram pulse. Even in worst-weather years, the gram production was ne'er less than 5 maunds per acre. sadly throughout the past few years it absolutely was solely two.5 maunds per acre. however and why did the yield call in over seventy % at intervals a matter of few years nobody knows", Abraham Mughal Chairman Agri-Forum Asian nation aforementioned.

Mughal aforementioned the case could improve slightly if water and fertiliser handiness improves adding that at the present a bag of carbamide is obtainable at Rs one,900 to Rs two,000, that 3 years back was obtainable at Rs 800 per bag. the assembly value of various crops has increased  manifold throughout past few years and farmers square measure unable to buy necessary inputs to extend yield. Farmers have planted wheat over a locality of very little over eight.5 million hectares this year, down from nine.13 million hectares last year once the country created a bumper crop of regarding twenty three.8 million loads of wheat, Mughal aforementioned.

Source: Business Recorder 

Agriculture sector opposes granting NDMA/MFN status to India

The Agriculture Task Force (ATF) of Pakistan-India Joint Business Forum (PIJBF) is vehemently opposition granting Non-Discriminatory Market Access/Most Favoured Nation (NDMA/MFN) to Asian country at this stage.

President, Farmers Associates West Pakistan (FAP) and Co-Chair of Agriculture Task force, PIJBF, Tariq Bucha in an exceedingly letter sent to the federal commerce minister has highlighted that agriculture sector, that is far and away the largest leader within the country, flatly opposes granting NDMA/MFN to Asian country until correct preparations are completed on our facet to guard our sectors from huge Indian subsidies, and find important market access from Asian country for Pakistani merchandise, to make sure the amount enjoying field as per the need ordered down within the cupboard call of bissextile day, 2012.

Unnecessary haste with that the govt of West Pakistan is continuing to open Wagah border and to over 137 things before Asian country lowers its agriculture tariffs and removes every kind of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and healthful and Phyto healthful (SPS) barriers that are undermining our negotiating leverage and position. "For Agriculture turn out and product, Wagah route can't be opened any longer, till a separate bilateral agri-trade agreement is negotiated involving stakeholders together with FAP, and is finalised and signed, supported associate impartial and freelance study for that purpose," he said.

Moreover, he said, SAFTA doesn't apply absolutely to the complexities concerned underneath the World Trade Organization regime with relevance agriculture. it's a 15-page agreement with incomplete annexes, and needs important and severe redefining, restructuring and amendments with careful neutral input and approval, just in case it contemplates agri trade between the countries owing to huge current and future subsidies given to agriculture in Asian country that ar an indicator of unfair trade.

Nowhere will the SAFTA agreement need West Pakistan to terminate its sensitive list in 5 years. "Pakistan's agriculture sector vehemently opposes any longer phasing out of agricultural things from the sensitive list. we've got scan the SAFTA Agreement rigorously, and apprehend that there's no such categorical demand. Any reductions created on the sensitive list ar discretionary, and despite the fact that a review of the list is needed each four years, a 'review' doesn't need a discount in it," he declared.

Within the ASEAN regime, that may be a way more sturdy FTA than SAFTA, as an example, there ar things that stay for good on a "highly sensitive list", he said, adding that any representatives of the govt of West Pakistan United Nations agency agrees to needless reductions of the sensitive list should apprehend that they'd be doing therefore with none legal demand, and would be violating the principle of keeping tier enjoying field that was set down within the aforesaid cupboard call, within the wake of the big subsidies given by the Indian government.

He steered that to effectively counter the big subsidies on agriculture before gap Wagha and granting NDMA/MFN to Asian country, the govt of West Pakistan should initial place in situ tariff rate quotas per crop that equal the grant given to every crop on the Indian facet, to make sure tier enjoying field. "The on top of steps should be verified by FAP, representing the agri-sector. Once that's done, we tend to may move forward on negotiating a separate agri-trade agreement for bilateral trade with Asian country," he added.

It has been discovered within the letter that granting NDMA means Wagah ought to still be closed to all or any Indian merchandise, as a result of no different country's merchandise comes through Wahga. "Therefore, if all merchandise are restricted from Wagah, that might accommodates Non-Discriminatory Market Access. By granting Wagah access to over 137 Asian countryn merchandise would quantity to granting India even additional favourable terms than needed by a grant of NDMA/MFN. Granting Wagah access to over the present agriculture things can considerably weaken Pakistan's economy, and already beleaguered agriculture sector," he said.

Tariq declared that Congress Party is probably going to lose within the coming elections in {india|India|Republic of Asian country|Bharat|Asian country|Asian nation} thus the agriculture sector powerfully opposes granting NDMA/MFN to India notably once the new Indian government is merely few months away and will lift any concessions that ar given to West Pakistan by the outgoing Congress government. 'At this juncture, National Tariff Commission (NTC) doesn't nevertheless have the capability or provisions to effectively counter unfair trade practices like the anticipated selling and significant subsidisation of agricultural merchandise by the Indian facet,' he said.

Before giving any longer trade concessions to the Indian facet, he same the Ministry of Commerce should demonstrate that the NTC has the power, capability and therefore the powers to effectively defend Pakistan's agriculture from the anticipated onslaught of unfair Indian trade practices of selling and significant subsidization. "Since 2011, the Ministry of Commerce has acknowledged that the NTC lacks such capability, and nevertheless the NTC has not visibly improved. The Ministry of Commerce thus cannot in sensible conscience open Wagah or to over 137 things before it may build a strong NTC'.

Concluding Tariq same, though the agriculture sector isn't loth to trade with Asian country in an exceedingly structured, phased and effectively negotiated agreement, we tend to feel that the govt of West Pakistan has so far did not improve the capability of its establishments or place in provisions to afford required protection to its domestic sectors, to assist survive the anticipated onslaught of Indian agricultural turn out and product. 'Thus, till such time that the govt of West Pakistan demonstrates that it's serious concerning safeguarding Pakistan's domestic agriculture from unfair competition, we'll oppose any move for granting NDMA/MFN and additional gap of Wagah'.

Source Business Recorder 

Olive Cultivation-Bringing Peace to FATA

Olive Plantation Initiatives

45% land of FATA is suitable for olive cultivation

(GIS study conducted by IOA and PODB)

Most suitable areas includes

–Bajaur 79,899 ha (53.4 %)

–Mohmand 75,167 ha (34.2 %)

–Kurram 93,676 ha (19.1 %)

–SWA 37,134 ha (6.4 %)

–NWA 51,319 ha (15.3 %)

Why Olive Plantation

• Plant of Marginal land

• Minimum land preparation cost

• Minimum inputs cost

• High rate of return

• Simple value addition

• Wide range of products

• Fruit bearing life >900 years

• Suitable for many areas

• Can reduce import bill

• Great export potential

Issues/challenges

• Sustenance of farmers

• Security concerns in FATA

• Farmers education & training

• Limited saplings available

• Infrastructure (road, market)

• Water scarcity

Implementation Strategy

• Implementation to start from FR/closer to settled areas

• Ownership of Politicians, PAs, Maliks and Notables

• Selection of areas with irrigation resources

• Sustenance of poor growers

• Free distribution of saplings

• Monitoring through satellite imagery/third party audit

• Training of farmers

• Small oil extraction units to be developed by ABEI, PARC

Benefits

• Environmental improvement

• Marginal land utilization

• Development of village entrepreneurship

• Employment generation

• Livelihood improvement

• Export potential

Source: Presentation highlight taken from Pakistan Agriculture Research Council Website for original Presentation Click Here

Growers urged to complete sunflower sowing

Punjab Agriculture Department (PAD) has warned the growers to immediately complete sunflower sowing as further delay will result in lower per acre yield. A spokesman of the Department said here on Monday that best time for spring plantation of sunflower in Southern Punjab including Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan Division is till February 10. While in Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Sargodha Division best time for sowing is till February 15 and for Lahore, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi Division the suitable time is till end of February. He further stated that the growers should adopt latest technology to get maximum per acre production.

^{Source: Business Recorder}

Food security under threat despite surplus food

Despite the country is enjoying surplus crops especially of wheat and rice, the food security seems extremely chaotic, as high inflation, declining income, unequal distribution of resources and stagnating domestic productivity are hampering attempts to achieve food security.
Experts are critically examining this situation giving a warning that the country’s food security is under threat due to the shallow approach of the economic managers.
Pakistan Agriculture Scientists Association Chairman Jamshed Iqbal Cheema said that there is a significant increase in the number of food insecure people in Pakistan, which now stands at 51 per cent of the total population as compared to about 22 per cent six years back; this is largely due to decline in agricultural production, especially in the Punjab, caused by ill-conceived policies.
He said that investment in agriculture sector not only ensures food security of any country but also help to produce a healthy nation besides promoting rule of law in the society. Farming is just not a profession but an effort to save 194 million people of Pakistan from hunger.
Keeping in view the population growth, Pakistan needs 50 percent more agricultural production by 2025 and it can only be done by strengthening the agricultural sector and promoting good agricultural practices for maximum per acre yield.
He was of the view that the government should reduce the input cost by waiving taxes on the inputs and bringing down diesel and electricity prices. He was of the view that it would enhance usage of quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs which would result in better production thus ensuring more grain for ever increasing population of Pakistan.
PASA Chairman believed that undernourished Pakistani population were reduced to two meals a days from three meals. Due to increase in input cost, the per head person cost of Pakistani has increased to Rs 3,000 per month, Cheema said and added that due to increase in this cost people were compromising their meals to manage the other day to day affairs.
He said average family size in Pakistan was 5.5 persons which mean a family have to spend Rs 16,500 per month to ensure three meals a day.
He regretted that Pakistan which is attributed as basically agricultural country lacks in provision of sufficient food and it is in the ranks of those countries which have low grains per capita for its citizens.
Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman, Ibrahim Mughal, while commenting on the food security in Pakistan said that it happened first time in the history of Pakistan that despite food surplus, shortage and price hike has been created several times during last one decade. While farmer is producing more and more wheat but not getting any benefit,” he commented.

Source: The Nation

Zinc: Importance and Current situation

Zaghum Sattar & Abdul Saboor Butt

Institute of soil & Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

Zinc (Zn) is among those minerals that were first considered as essential for plants, animals and human. Zn is a basic essential trace mineral element for normal healthy growth in plants, animals and humans that uptake as a divalent cation (Zn²⁺) by plants. Zn is playing principal metabolically role in plants and required in the carbonic enzyme present in all photosynthetic tissues, and also required for chlorophyll biosynthesis. Zinc is one of the essential micronutrient for the normal healthy growth and reproduction of crop plants. Zn plays an important role in plant metabolism by influencing the activities of enzymes, hydrogenase and carbonic anhydrase, stabilization of ribosomal fractions and also synthesis of cytochrome.  Zn also activate plant enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, integrity maintenance of cellular membranes, synthesis of nucleic acids and specific proteins, regulate auxin synthesis and pollen formation. The regulation of the gene expression required for the tolerance of environmental stresses in plants also depend on the Zn.Zinc deficiency involves in the abnormalities development in plants as deficiency symptoms such as stunted growth, chlorosis and smaller leaves, spikelet sterility. Zn deficiency can also adversely affect the quality of harvested products; plants susceptibility to injury by high sunlight or temperature intensity and to infection by fungal diseases can also increase. A zinc deficiency affects the capacity for water uptake and transport in plants. Zn involves in the synthesis of tryptophan which is a precursor of IAA, and in the production of growth hormoneauxin. Zinc deficiency is common in humans, animals and plants. More than 30% world’s population suffers from Zn deficiency. Zinc deficiency is found to be more common in developing countries due to low Zn in their diet. Zinc plays a part.in the basic roles of. Cellular functions in all living organisms and also involved in the human immune system. The optimum dietary intake for human adults is 12-15 mg Zn per day. Zinc acts as a catalytic or structural component in various body enzymes.Unsatisfactory intake and improper absorption of Zinc in the body may cause deficiency of Zn.  Zn malnutrition in humans can result in many fatal and other diseases like hair and memory loss, skin problems and weakness in eye side and body muscles. Insufficient intake of Zn during pregnancy in women also causes stunted brain development of the fetus. Infertility has also been observed in Zn deficient men. Zinc deficiency may cause congenital diseases like Acrodermatitis enteropathica. According to FAO/WHO recommendations an average male need 11 mg of Zn daily while an average female needs 9 mg of Zn. During pregnancy and lactation, the female needs 13 mg to 14 mg of Zn daily. Infants from 7 months to 3 years need 3 mg, 4 to 8 years need 5 mg and children from 9 to 13 years need 8 mg of Zn daily. In Pakistan, Zn deficiency is common in children and in women.Trace elements such as Zn are contained in all soils in measurable amounts. However, these concentrations can vary considerably. The overall mean total Zn concentration in soil is around 55 mg Zn kg^-1. A typical range of Zn in soils is from 10 to 300 mg Zn kg^-1. These values do not include contaminated soils, which may have much higher zinc concentrations.However, plant available Zn is very low as compared to its total amount. For a better Zn nutrition of human beings, cereal grain should contain around 40-60 mg Zn kg^-1 where current situation is 10-30 mg Zn kg^-1. Soils with low zinc availability for plant uptake represent nearly half of the cereal-growing areas of the world. The countries most affected by zinc deficient soils are Pakistan, India, Iran, China and Turkey with 50-70% of arable land classified as zinc deficient.

Basic concepts in crop production

AGRONOMY

Scientific crop production is called Agronomy.

CROP

Community of plants to produce yield, which are economically important, called Crop.

OBJECTIVES OF CROP

To provide the food to the human beings and also useful to animals.

GENOTYPE

Genotype are the new varieties and cultivars.

• Poor yield    =      poor genotype +         good environment
• Poor yield    =      poor genotype +         poor environment
• Poor yield    =      good genotype +         poor environment
• Good yield   =      good genotype +         good environment

FACTORS EFFECTING GENOTYPE

These are the factors effecting genotype

• Vulnerability of seed.
• Viability of seed.
• Poor storability.

SOIL

It is a layer of lithosphere. Soil is composed of aluminium and silica is 1:1 or 1:2 ratio.

Soil is the basic medium for plant growth.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL

Physical properties of soil are

• Bulk density
• Porosity
• Soil texture and structure.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL

Chemical properties of soil are

• Cation (-), Anion (+) exchange capacity
• Soil ph.
• Soil salts or electrical conductivity
• Soil types.

CROPING SEASONS

We have two cropping seasons

• Rabi
• Kharif.

RABI CROPS

Those crops which growing season starts in winter

For example; Wheat, Barley etc.

KHARIF CROPS

Those crops which growing season starts in summer

For example; Cotton, Rice etc.

TYPES OF PLANTS ON THE BASIS OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC SYSTEMS

There are two types of plants on the basis of photosynthetic systems

• C₃ Plants (Mesophyllous photosynthetic system)
• C₄ Plants (PEP carboxyl’s photosynthetic system)

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS OF C₃ AND C₄ PLANTS

• C₄ are tropical plants.
• C₄ plants productivity is greater than C₃ plants.
• C₄ plants are Sugar cane, Sorghum, Milit, Maize, and Weeds.
• C₄ plants does not utilize its own chloroplast whether C₃ plants does use it.

SOIL COMPOSITION

Soil is the basic medium for plant growth.

Soil contain

• 25% moisture
• 25% Airspace
• 5% Organic matter
• 45% Minerals.

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF COMMON MICROORGANISMS PER GRAM OF SOIL.

• Bacteria                           3,000,000 to 500,000,000
• Actinomycetes                  1,000,000 to 20,000,000
• Fungi                               5,000 to 1000,000
• Protozoa                          1,000 to 500,000
• Algae                               1,000 to 500,000

CN RATIO (CARBON TO NITROGEN RATIO)

CN ratio indicates the decomposition of organic matter. Number of carbon units utilizes to produce nitrogen unit.

Crop Name	C	:	N
· Green Legumes	12	:	1
· Compost (decompose form of O.matter)	15	:	1
· Garbage	25	:	1
· Sugar Cane thrash	50	:	1
· Weeds	80	:	1
· Rice straw	80	:	1
· Saw dust	500	:	1

Cold and gusty winds reduce fish catch

Cold and gusty winds at sea with short days have significantly reduced winter's fish catch, as vessels have shifted to their nocturnal operations in a bid to maximise the fishing span. Talking to Business Recorder on Tuesday, the scantly covered with warm gears seafarers said that the short days make them to rely more on night time operations with a view to increase the fishing span.
"Catch always comes down in winter because of strong gusty winds and cold weather conditions," said President Sindh Trawlers Owners and Fishermen Association (Stofa), Habibullah Khan Niazi.
The fishermen said the northerly winds, which have yet to take impetus to tear across the coastal belt of Sindh, are still cold enough to cause vessels to cut their catch short to quickly return to moorages.
"Span of fishing operations has increased at seas from 20 to 28 days since the cold weather season has started in the country's coastal parts," Habibullah Niazi said
The seafarers said the Arabian Sea turns into inertia and remains dull for four months, but scales down the catch as marine life plunges into seabed in habitats during the cold.
"Cold waves push fish to seabed dwelling where many of the species remain there all the winter days, making the fishermen sail longer to hunt," said President Native. Islanders Fishermen Association (Nifa), Asif Bhatti.

^{Courtesy Business Recorder       I   News Collated by agrinfobank.com}

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Pakistan among top Asian states in illicit tobacco consumption

Pakistan is among top Asian countries in the consumption of illicit tobacco with highest number of 21.8 billion illicit cigarettes consumed in the country annually. Referring to a 'Asia-11 Illicit Tobacco Indicator 2012' study by Oxford Economics, experts said on Monday that the figures and data has been mentioned in the said study.
In the reporting year, the domestic illicit use was 18.8 billion cigarettes, whereas the non-domestic consumption of illicit cigarettes stands at 3 billion, which is much lower than the domestic use. The non-duty paid cigarettes contribute to rise in tobacco consumption by making cigarettes cheaper and more accessible. This makes it more attractive, especially to people who are price sensitive, such as youth and the poor. It also allows cigarettes to be sold as singles instead of packs, or from non-regulated outlets that make it more accessible to youth.
On the other hand the study indicates that the countries with a sharp rise in taxes on legal tobacco brands than the countries with low taxes have the high ratio of illicit consumption.
Heavy taxation on the legal tobacco brands (high tax paying industry) is ultimately promoting the illicit tobacco industry thus allowing criminals and opportunists to get a chance to sell their counterfeit products on cheap rates, which attracts the customers with low purchasing power.
The main factors contributing to the problem include an unbalanced fiscal policy, heavy taxation, protectionist policy measures, corruption, weak enforcement, lack of official controls in free zones, inadequate legislation and sanctions, growth in illegal distribution networks and public tolerance of the illicit trade in tobacco products.
According to the Oxford Economics study, due to illicit tobacco trade, Pakistan loses tax revenues of over Rs 27 billion per year.
Recently, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has initiated an advertisement campaign in the media to create awareness about the illegal and smuggled tobacco brands. It is an encouraging effort but the FBR should focus more on developing a comprehensive enforcement strategy to curb illegal tobacco trade, they said.
The sale and purchase of smuggled Pine and other smuggled packs including Esse, Mild 88, More, Camel and Sense are illegal and attract penalties of confiscation of cigarettes, fine of up to Rs 50, 000, recovery equal to 500 per cent of unpaid taxes and imprisonment up to five years. The FBR's agency has launched many similar campaigns against illicit cigarette brands, especially against Pine, which is in high demand amongst Pakistani smokers because it is an imported brand easily available at below the minimum price set by the FBR at Rs 34 for a pack of 20.'Cricket' is a recent example of a duty-evading cigarette brand that is being sold at Rs 12. This also raises the question how the brand was being sold even below the minimum excise duty, which stands at Rs 17.6 per pack and should be payable to the national exchequer.
If the government is serious in curbing this illegitimate business, it needs to develop comprehensive anti-illicit trade policies and pay particular attention to the involvement of all relevant government agencies like Customs, Ministries of Finance, Health, Justice and Trade, to ensure alignment and commitment to achieving the same goals, they added.

News Source     I News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

Spices export falls 31.2 percent in July-October

The country''s spices export fell 31.2 percent during July-October 2013-14 to $13.531 million as compared to the commodity''s export of $19.666 million in the same period last fiscal year, official figures say. The fall in term of volume totalled $6.135 million in the first four months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said. The quantity of spices export declined by 1302 metric tons or 25 percent to 3,943 metric tons in July-October 2013-14 from 5,245 metric tons in the same period last fiscal year, PBS added.

News Source      I                News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

Punjab government announces wheat production contest

Punjab government has announced wheat production competition in order to encourage the growers to bring maximum area under wheat sowing and ensure food security for the province and the country.

News Source      I                News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

Electricity generation: Punjab plans to make crop waste usable

Punjab government has planned to utilise, around 28 million ton crop waste including husk from wheat, cotton sticks, besides waste from rice and maize to generate electricity and has decided to set up five biomass resource power generation plants including one 20 megawatt plant in Multan to overcome electricity shortage by exploiting vast green energy potential in the province. It is officially stated on Friday.
Official sources said that 20 megawatt plants would be set up each in Multan and Faisalabad, 10 megewatt capacity plants in Kala Shah Kaku (Lahore) and Rahimyar Khan, and a 2 megawatt plant in Daska (Sialkot).
The projects would be undertaken on public-private partnership mechanism and would add 62MW electricity to the national grid after completion. Electricity generation by exploiting green energy is comparatively cheaper and environment friendly. Kahlon said, a strategy was also being prepared to ensure availability of crop biomass, its supply system, required quantity and machinery required to generate power. Experts were engaged in devising a biomass management system with a view to reduce cost of transportation of biomass to desired places. It said that crop waste processing plants would also be set up to make crop waste usable for electricity generation.
Official said that a Crop Bio Mass Cell has also been set up in Punjab agriculture department to co-ordinate with the organisations and departments having expertise in generating electricity from green energy. The cell would also assess the quantity of biomass that can be collected, and strategy for its proper storage. Information/data regarding all kind of big and small crops grown in Punjab would be conveyed to the organisations having experience of biomass power generation or engaged in research on the subject so as to find opportunities of co-operation or partnership at national and international level to achieve the objective.
According to a recent survey of Punjab Agriculture Department, around 28 million ton crop waste including husk from wheat, cotton sticks, besides waste from rice and maize can be utilised to generate electricity. Moreover, research bodies including Agriculture Mechanisation Research Institute Multan, Agriculture University Faisalabad and others were engaged in exploring alternate means of energy and to finalise a set of doable recommendations to produce electricity from crop waste. It will help the government and its partners to finalise a flawless strategy to produce green electricity. The initiative taken by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was commendable and growers should extend their full co-operation by preparing a system to collect and keep crop waste for its utilisation to generate electricity, sources said.

News Source I  News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

KBP welcomes formation of agriculture advisory council

Kissan Board Pakistan (KBP) has welcomed Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif'sNawaz Sharif's decision to form agricultural development advisory council and give incentives to agriculture sector so that it could play its pivotal role for economic, social and political stability in the country.
Addressing a meeting of the farmers' organisation here on Sunday, central president of KBP Sardar Zafar Hussain Khan said that the real representatives of the forming community should be included in the council in order to make it a worthwhile and result-oriented institution.
He said the government must realise that it is the agriculture sector that is backbone of the economy, provides food security to the nation and major source of raw material for textile, tannery, cottage industries and SMEs. He regretted that the farmers are agitating for not getting proper prices of their produce and hard work and are being forced to pay inflated electricity bills, high prices of fertilisers, pesticides and other agriculture inputs that have unbearably increased cost of production, Sugar mills are also blackmailing and fleecing the growers by not starting the crushing season on time and forcing them to sell their commodity at throw away prices, he added.
Zafar assured that the farmers can bring about a real economic revolution if they were given incentives and financially viable prices of their commodities keeping in view the cost of production. There is a vast scope to increase per yield of various crops provided farmers were given necessary incentives, he added.
The KBP president also called upon the Prime Minister to call a meeting of the countrywide representative bodies of farmers as in case of trading community and industrialists to have their input for quantum jump in the agriculture production.
KBP office bearers Sarfraz Ahmad Khan, Chaudhry Manzoor Gujjar, Haji Mohammad Ramzan, Chaudhry Noor Elahi Tatla, Dr Mohammad Nawaz Cheena, Dr Abdul Jabbar and Malik, Fiazul Hassan Bhutta also attended the meeting.

News Source: Business Recorder  News collected: agrinfobank.com Team

Provinces uninterested in raising wheat support price

The delay in announcement of wheat support price would create serious crisis as it would decrease area under wheat cultivation that would ultimately lead to food crisis, said members of National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research (NFS&R) on Thursday. They said that delayed announcement of wheat support price would badly affect production in the next season and the government had to import wheat to meet the domestic demand.
The meeting presided over by Chairman Malik Shakir Bashir Awan was attended by MNA Muhammad Safdar, Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad, Chaudhry Iftikhar Nazir, Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan, Syed Iftikhar Hussain, Pir Shafqat Hussain Jilani, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, Junaid Akbar, Shahida Akhtar Ali, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (NFS&R), Sikandar Hayyat Khan Bosan, Iftikhar Ahmad Rao, additional secretary (NFS&R) and other senior officials.
Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan told the committee that he endorsed the support price should have been announced two months ago, but provinces were not interested in increasing the support price. "We have consulted provinces in this regard and some provinces have given their response which shows that they are not interested in increasing support price of wheat," he said.
The committee directed NFS&R to ensure the presence of provincial secretaries of Agriculture during the next meeting which would be held soon to fix wheat support price to avoid further delay in this regard.
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi said that the cultivation of wheat had started while the wheat support prices had not yet been announced. He said that the delay in the announcement of wheat support price would badly discourage the crop's cultivation.
He said that after devolution of Ministry of Food and Agriculture the leading role of agriculture policy making had been shifted from the federal government to provinces, but unfortunately provinces had no capacity in this regard due to which food security was under threat. He said that the provincial governments supposed to look after this critical sector, had not given the requisite funds. This was alarming and showed the lack of priority given to this important sector, he said. Some functions of the Ministry, Shah Mahmood said, had been transferred to the provinces, while some functions had been distributed among 4 federal ministries resulting in utter confusion and inaction, he said.
He said that after devolution of the MFS&R, the meeting of this committee would be useless without provincial representatives.
Shah Mahmood also raised the issue of the phutti price (seed cotton). He conveyed the sentiments of the growers of southern Punjab and Sindh on the irrationally low price of phutti and expressed disappointment with the government. Farmers were getting Rs.2800-2900 per 40 kg, which was the same they got last year, whereas the dollar had shot up to almost Rs 110, he observed.
"So the farmer is even being deprived of the benefit of the exchange rate at the hands of a small but powerful lobby," he further said.
He said that Pakistan had the installed capacity to produce enough urea to meet national requirements, but because of myopic government policies and non-availability of gas to fertiliser plants, Pakistan was to import urea fertiliser when depleting foreign exchange reserves was a major issue.
Rao Muhammad Ajmal Khan also said that delay in announcement of wheat support price would badly affect small farmers in the country as the input cost had increased to a great extent. He said that due to lack of water reservoir, the country could face acute shortage of water during the next five to seven years, which would hamper the country's agriculture production. There was a dire need to set up water reservoirs in the country to avert water shortage in future, he said.
He said, "We need to facilitate researchers as we do not need atom bomb we need food for our children."
Chaudhry Nazeer Ahmad said that India had given subsidy to farmers due to which our farmers unable to compete them. "When some crops produced in good quantity in India, the formers sent them to Pakistani market, however Pakistani formers are not allow to do so," he said, adding "We need to form laws like India to protect the interest of our farmers."
Sikandar Bosan said that the development budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, which was Rs.25 billion at the time of devolution, had shrunk to Rs. 0.75 billion presently.

News Source: Business Recorder  News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

July-October, 2013-14: import of agriculture machinery, tools fall 61 percent

According to official figures, Pakistan's import of agriculture machinery and implements fell 61 percent to $20.122 million during July-October period of the current fiscal year. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) report, import of agriculture machinery and implements showed a decline of $31.115 million during the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared the machinery import of $51.237 million in the same period of last fiscal year. However, import of construction and mining machinery grew by $84.398 million or just over 90 percent to $144.140 million in the first five months as compared to the machinery import of $59.742 million in the same period of last year.
On the other hand, import of textile machinery went up by $20.28 million over 15 percent to $153.793 million in July-Oct, 2013-14 as compared to the machinery import of $133.513 million in the same period of 2012-13. Import of other machinery posted a $13.673 million or 3 percent rise to $483.539 million in July-Oct, 2013-14 as compared to the machinery import of $469.866 million in same period of last year.

News Source: Business Recorder  News Collected: agrinfobank.com Team

Temporary move: Russia lifts ban on kinnow imports

Russia – one of the biggest markets for Pakistani kinnow – temporarily lifted the ban from Pakistani Kinnow imports for this season, fruit exporters said.

The Russian government imposed the ban on Pakistani agriculture imports a couple of months ago over concerns of fruit and vegetable diseases. The removal of the ban is the result of an extensive talk between the two governments. Nevertheless, the restriction on import of potato from Pakistan would remain intact until the phyto-sanitary issues are resolved.

The Russian team will visit Pakistan in January 2014 to inspect the facilities and quarantine methods and practices. The team will see safety measures in place for diseases in the country. Exporters say Pakistan may lose the major market if Russian market is not open this season.

News Source: Tribune    News Collected: agrinfobak.com Team