Federal Government Sets Production Targets for Rabi Season 2023-24

The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) convened to review the bumper production of major crops and set targets for the upcoming Rabi Season 2023-24. The committee, chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Prof. Dr. Kauser Abdulla Malik, set a wheat production target of 32.12 million tons for an area of 8.9 million hectares.

Additionally, provisional estimates for other crops were provided:

• 11.5 million bales of cotton
• 8.64 million tons of rice
• 143.6 thousand tons of mung beans
• 5.28 thousand tons of mash
• 1.36 thousand tons of chilies

The meeting also addressed water and fertilizer availability for the upcoming season and efforts to support farmers.

Water and Fertilizer Availability: For Rabi 2023-24, the IRSA Advisory Committee has anticipated a shortage of water by 15 percent for Punjab & Sindh during the Rabi season. Provinces are allocated 31.66 MAF of water. Prevailing weather conditions are supportive, and the shortage is manageable.

The Metrological Department informed that overall, normal to slightly above normal precipitation is expected in most parts of the country, particularly over northwestern regions. However, slightly below-normal rains are likely over the plains of Punjab and Sindh during the month of October. It is also noted that the temperature may remain above normal in most parts of the country.

The committee was informed that to stabilize the food security situation in the country, the Government is trying its level best to facilitate the farmers by providing inputs at affordable prices on one hand and is also making efforts to ensure the better price of their produce to bridge the gap between the cost of production and output price in favor of farmers.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has assigned an annual indicative agricultural credit disbursement target of Rs. 2,250 billion for FY 2023-24 to 47 institutions, which is 26.7 percent higher than last year’s disbursement of Rs. 1,776 billion.

Accordingly, during July-August 2023 (FY 2023-24), the agricultural lending institutions disbursed Rs. 326 billion, which is 14.5 percent of the overall annual target and 44 percent higher than the disbursement of Rs. 226 billion made during the same period of last year. The house also informed that during the upcoming Rabi 2023-24 (November – December 2023) supply of urea and DAP is expected to remain stable.

S.M. Tanveer, Minister for Agriculture, Punjab, Asif Rafiq, Minister for Agriculture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Major General Shahid Nazeer, DG, LIMS attended the meeting. The meeting had participants from Provincial Agriculture Departments, the State Bank of Pakistan, ZTBL, the National Fertilizer Development Center (NFDC), the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the Indus River System Authority and senior officers of the M/O National Food Security & Research participated in the meeting.

Attendees also included Chairman PARC and heads of Ministries/attached departments viz., Agriculture Policy Institute, Federal Seed Certification & Registration Department, Pakistan Oilseed Department, Department of Plant Protection, Federal Water Management Cell and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO).