Islamabad: Pakistan has fallen short of its wheat production target for the Rabi Season 2023-2024, with an estimated production of 29.69 million tons compared to the set target of 32.2 million tons from an area of 9.6 million hectares of land.
Reports from provincial governments, presented during the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) meeting chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R) Rana Tanveer Hussain, indicated that wheat production for the season was estimated at 29.69 million tons from the aforementioned land area.
During the previous FCA meeting in October 2023, a wheat crop production target of 32.2 million tons was set for the Rabi Season 2023-2024 from the same land area. Provincial government estimates suggest that Punjab will contribute 22.6 million tons of wheat, Sindh 4.4 million tons, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1.4 million tons, and Balochistan 1.3 million tons to the total production.
While the country missed the fixed wheat production target, it still experienced a 5.4% increase in wheat production compared to the previous year.
Additionally, onion production for 2023-24 is estimated at 1.92 million tons from an area of 0.122 million hectares, marking a 3.9% increase in production despite a 5.4% decrease in area compared to the last year. Tomato production is estimated at 627,000 tons from an area of 50,000 hectares, with a 3.9% increase in production and a marginal decrease in area.
Potato production for 2023-24 is estimated at 8.1 million tons from an area of 0.3 million hectares, reflecting a significant 27.9% increase in production.
The FCA also reviewed the performance of Rabi crops (2023-24) and set targets for the Kharif season 2024-25, including a cotton production target of 10.8 million bales, a rice production target of 8.7 million tons, a sugarcane production target of 76.7 million tons, and a maize production target of 9.3 million tons. Targets for other crops, such as mung, mash, and chillies, were also established by the FCA.
Furthermore, officials provided information on water availability in canals for the Kharif year 2024-25, with an expected availability of 63.61 million acres feet (MAF), slightly higher than the previous year’s 61.85 MAF.
Representatives from various agricultural departments, along with officials from meteorological and financial institutions, attended the meeting to discuss forecasts and strategies for the upcoming agricultural seasons.
