Twirp : Terrorist Wahabi Islamic Republic Pakistan

[Naresh]

<b>Wheat yield in Pakistani Punjab far lower than Indian Punjab</b>

PESHAWAR : Wheat yield per hectare in Pakistan’s Punjab province is far less than that in Indian Punjab due to a host of reasons, a seminar was told here the other day.

Among those reasons was the difference between wheat production systems of India and Pakistan, evident from wheat sowing and marketing.

The Soil Science Society of Pakistan organised a special seminar at the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), with Prof Dr Riaz A Khattak in the chair. It discussed wheat production in Punjab provinces of the two countries.

According to a press release, a joint group of Pakistani and Indian scientists conducted a comparative study, analysing the wheat production systems in both parts of Punjab.

One of the members of the study group, Dr Tariq Sultan, senior scientific officer of NARC, presented a review of the two systems. Wheat yield per hectare is almost double in Indian Punjab as compared to Pakistan’s. The main reason the data suggested for the high yield in Indian Punjab was the provision of subsidy on fertilisers, tube-wells and machinery.

It said the indigenous production of tractors, combiners and other farm implements led to high production in India. The data showed that sowing by drill method, availability of certified seeds, a farmer-friendly efficient and effective market system and a stable pricing system contributed to high production in India.

Total cultivated area in Indian Punjab is estimated at 4,224 million hectares and total number of farms is 1,093 while in Pakistan the cultivated area is 15,960 million hectares and farms are 3,864.

The study also showed a contrast in yields, which was 4,179-4,696 kg per hectare in Indian Punjab compared to 2,392-2,775 kg per hectare in Pakistani Punjab.

In India, DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser is priced at Rs475 per bag and urea costs Rs250 per bag while in Pakistan they cost Rs3,200 and Rs630 per bag respectively, which are quite high.

Indian Punjab gives Rs350 per month subsidy on tube-wells while Pakistan offers no such facility. Similarly, methods of sowing in both countries also point towards differences between them. Two methods, drill and broadcast, are applied to sowing in Indian Punjab. Of these, 98 per cent sowing is done through drill method and one to two per cent through broadcast method.

Compared to that, in Pakistan only 20 to 30 per cent sowing is done through drill method and the remaining through broadcast method.

India manufactures its own tractors and provides certified seeds while in Pakistan tractors are imported and farmers use their own seeds.

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