It was reported to the Committee has been informed the sugarcane harvest for the season 2022-23 was estimated to be 81.64 million tons , as it was grown over 1.32 million acres. Sugarcane production shows an growth of 12.44 percent, and the areas under crop increased by 23 percent compared to the objectives.
In addition, the production of rice is estimated to be 5.53 million tons over the area of 2.99 million hectares. This is the decrease of 2.4 percent and 34.51 percentage in the production and area, respectively.
The yield of maize is estimated to be 9.24 million tonnes as it rose by 21.02 percent and the area increased by 86% compared to established targets.
The production of mung beans for 2022-23 is estimated to be 183.7 thousand tonnes across 213.2 thousand hectares. This is the growth of 12.58 percent and 2.29 percent in both production and area, respectively.
The Committee was informed that the cotton production for the this time of year is estimated at 6.3 million bales, spread over an area that is 2.1 million acres.
Achievements in the production of minor and major crops such as millet, wheat, gram potatoes, lentils tomatoes, onion and chillies were also reviewed during the meeting.
The committee has set the production targets for all other Rabi crops, including grams of pulses, potatoes, tomato, and onion. The target is set as 560, 6,029 and 2,422 and 622 tonnes in total.
The availability of seed in the case of Rabi crop was discussed as well. We was reported that the certified seed supply for Rabi crops was up by 14% in comparison to previous year.
To Rabi 2022-23 IRSA Advisory Committee has predicted a deficit of 18 percent. In the Rabi season, the provinces are given 30.25 MAF of water and it was reported that current weather conditions are favorable and that the shortfall is manageable.
Metrological Department informed that summer monsoons 2022’s rainfall remains substantially higher than normal (175 percent) all over the country.
Balochistan as well as Sindh provinces experienced record-breaking amounts of rainfall between July and August 2022 , with positive anomalies of 450 percent and 426% in the same time, and KPK, GB and Punjab received 33 percent, 104% and 70% more than normal rainfall, respectively. Forecasts for the months of between October and December 2022 suggests that rain is likely to be below average across the nation. Northern Punjab, KPK, GB and AJK are likely to see less than normal rainfall, while close to normal rainfall is predicted for the majority of the country throughout the time.
The lending institutions for agriculture recorded promising performance in agriculture lending during the fiscal year 2021-22 giving out Rs. 1,419 billion compared to the an annual goal of the Rs. 1,700 billion for the year. The year saw a year-to-year growth of 4percent, in spite of the constant challenges presented due to climate changes, geography inequalities and the costs of production.
The lending institution to the agricultural sector issued an amount of Rs. 226.1 billion which is 12.6 percent of its overall annual goal of 31.8 percent greater than the total of Rs. 171.6 billion during the same time the previous year.
The government also announced that, during the upcoming Rabi 2022-23 (November-December 2022) the supply of urea as well as DAP is expected to remain steady.
At the time of the meeting the Secretary for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema stated that Pakistan had to contend with a prolonged monsoon period from July until August. He also said that the heavy floods and rains have resulted in massive damage to the agricultural sector in the country.
The entire crop, including Sindh and Balochistan were severely damaged severely and as a result, the cost of all food items reached the highest price. In order to address the abysmal circumstance of a shortage of vital foods in local markets, the government has facilitated the import of vital foods on a speedy basis to ensure that the supply is maintained with reasonable prices for consumers and consumers, he said.
He also informed us that this issue also had an impact on crop production in Kharif crops 2022-23. He also said that the government made every effort to revive and improve the agriculture on modern lines to ensure the safety of food and ensure security.