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Firm steps needed to boost output of crops
Staff Reporter
Lahore—Agriculturists hope that this time around the facilitation of
the agriculture sector will not be limited to mere lip service but
solid steps will be taken to exploit its full potential. They point
out that farmers have been generally unable to achieve optimum yield
of each crop they harvest due to multiple reasons. These include the
quality of soil that has deteriorated over time due to irrigation by
sodic underground water, addition of chemicals (pesticides /
fertilisers) without taking corrective measures to maintain the
fertility of soil, exploitation of farmers by suppliers who provide
them substandard inputs including uncertified seeds and excessive
use of water that causes shortage of canal water when crops are at
maturing stage.
They say agriculture, if prudently facilitated, has the capability
to give results in the shortest time. With commodities’ prices at
historic peaks, it is high time that full attention is given to
agriculture to steer the economy out of trouble. As consumption of
many crops for extracting bio-fuel is on the increase, global
commodity prices are expected to remain high in the medium term. The
agriculture experts say considering the labour and man-hour invested
by farmers, they put in more efforts on their farms than their
counterparts in developed countries. However, comparatively their
production is much lower. Citing an example, they point out that
according to Food and Agriculture Organisation data Pakistani
farmers harvest wheat on around 8.5 million hectares each year and
the total production ranges from 21 to 22 million tonnes. In
comparison, French farmers achieve 31 to 32 million tonnes of wheat
from 5.25 million hectares. In the UK, wheat production is around
11.6 to 12 million tonnes from 1.5 million hectares.
They say wheat production in Pakistan from one hectare comes to
around 2,600-2,650 kg compared with 6,750 kg harvested by France and
8,038 kg achieved by the UK from the same area. However, the experts
are of the view that progressive farmers in Pakistan are able to
harvest 5,000 to 5,500 kg of wheat from one hectare from the same
regions in south Punjab where their fellow farmers obtain half the
yield from adjoining fields. The progressive and prudent farmers
test the soil, take corrective measures and use less fertilisers and
pesticides.
They irrigate their fields three times during the entire crop cycle
compared with five times in Punjab and six to seven times in Sindh
by most of the wheat farmers. Pakistan could become a major wheat
exporter if appropriate steps are taken before harvesting of the
next crop. The experts point out that the productivity of other
crops like cotton, rice and sugarcane is similar. Paddy yield in the
US averages 7,694 kg per hectare compared with 3,163 kg in Pakistan.
Australia harvested 1,860 kg of cotton from one hectare compared
with 690 to 705 kg picked by Pakistan cotton farmers from the same
area. The agriculturists point out that the state needs to take two
immediate steps.
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