Sargodha, October 28 , 2023 :Commissioner Sargodha division Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti has said that wheat crop would be cultivated on 1.66 million acres in the division this year, while a target of 35.86 maunds per acre yield had been set.
Presiding over a meeting of the committee set up at division level to increase wheat production here on Saturday, he said farmers should cultivate wheat on maximum area this year so that food security could be achieved.
The commissioner said reducing the production cost of farmers was first priority of the government, and farmers could get full production of wheat during Rabi season 2023-24. He directed the Agriculture Extension Department officers to ensure supply of quality agricultural inputs in the market. He warned that action would be taken against those who sell substandard agricultural inputs and those involved in black marketing of seeds and fertilisers.
Ajmal Bhatti called upon wheat growers to ensure adequate supply of fertilizers, water to their crop. He congratulated farmers and agricultural officers for achieving more than 100 per cent of the cotton target and also emphasised the need to achieve the wheat production target with the same spirit.
The meeting was told that till date, sowing of wheat had been completed on 25,000 acres in four districts, while 32,000 bags of seeds had been provided to farmers. It was further informed that 64 teams of experts from the Department of Agriculture were going to 1,329 villages and guiding farmers about wheat sowing. Competitions for 145 exhibition plots are also being conducted across the division this year.
The meeting was told that a target of sowing canola crop on 125,000 acres had been set in the four districts, while cultivation had been completed on 70,000 acres so far.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Sargodha Captain (retd) Shoaib Ali, Deputy Commissioner Khushab Zeeshan Shabbir Rana, Deputy Commissioner Mianwali Sajjad Ahmed Khan, Deputy Commissioner Bhakkar Dr. Noor Muhammad Awan and Director Agriculture Shahid Hussain and other officials of the Department of Agriculture and representatives of wheat farmers.
