Islamabad:
A panel of the National Assembly expressed its discomfort on Thursday for the provision of incorrect statistics regarding the production of crops in the country by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc).
The National Food Security Committee of the Assembly ordered an investigation to identify the persons responsible for providing incorrect information and those who accepted the PARC report.
A member of the committee, Rana Muhammad Hayat, said that from a dirt of land, which is equivalent to 25 acres, 1,400 maunds of sugar cane are produced in Pakistan.
“However, PARC officials claim that only 600 maunds of sugarcane against the PARC in this matter.
During the meeting, one of the members, Mna Moin Watto, asked if the government had devised a policy to buy wheat from farmers.
The Secretary of Foods replied that a summary of the wheat policy had been sent to the prime minister, who had formed a committee to work in wheat policy. This committee is currently working on recommendations on wheat policy.
He said that no wheat of any country will be imported this year and that neither the federal government nor the provinces will obtain wheat this year. “The provinces currently have enough wheat reserves. There will be no problems related to wheat in the country this year. To improve wheat storage capacity, the private sector will be involved,” he added.
Watto said that in that case, the government must ensure that farmers are free to sell their wheat to those who choose. “If wheat or potatoes are transported to other provinces, which happens,” he said.
