MULTAN, Nov 11 (DNA): Punjab Secretary Agriculture Shakil Ahmed Mian on Wednesday chaired a divisional committee meeting to review progress on the Wheat Campaign 2026-27, with a detailed assessment of canal water availability,fertilizer stocks and prices.
Provincial Assembly Member Lal Muhammad Joiya,Commissioner Multan Division Aamir Karim Khan,Deputy Commissioner(DC) Dr.Faisal Saleem,Director Agriculture Shehzad Sabir,Irrigation Department officials and farmers’ representatives attended the meeting.
Deputy commissioners and officials of relevant departments also participated through video link.
The secretary directed the departments concerned to ensure timely provision of quality seeds,fertilizers and canal water to farmers,stressing effective field monitoring and better inter-departmental coordination to achieve wheat cultivation targets.
He ordered immediate action against artificial shortages, hoarding and overcharging of fertilizers.
He also said that,under the clear directions of the Punjab chief minister,the Food Department would procure wheat directly from farmers and safeguard their interests.
Commissioner Aamir Karim Khan said the government was ensuring equitable distribution of canal water, particularly to farmers at the tail-end of the irrigation system.
He added that 738 suspects had so far been arrested in a crackdown on canal water theft across the division.
Briefing the meeting, the commissioner said the wheat cultivation target for Multan Division had been set at 1.825 million acres,against which sowing had been completed on 952,319 acres,achieving 52.18 per cent of the target.
District-wise sowing stood at 242,339 acres in Multan,265,843 acres in Khanewal,196,985 acres in Lodhran and 247,152 acres in Vehari.
The meeting was informed that wheat had been cultivated on 51,114 acres out of 98,968 acres of available government land.
Similarly,503.13 acres had been cultivated out of 1,597 acres of available land.
To promote modern cultivation methods,586 super seeders were operational across the division, facilitating wheat sowing on 97,600 acres.
Director Agriculture,Shehzad Sabir informed the meeting that four mega events,23 district-level and 45 tehsil-level gatherings had been organized under the wheat campaign,attracting thousands of participants.
He said 123 roadshows had been conducted jointly by the Agriculture Department and universities with 4,045 farmers participating while 8,531 farmers attended 281 training programs.
Under the door-to-door awareness campaign,officials had contacted 21,798 people in 339 villages across the division.
The division currently had stocks of 667,131 bags of urea and 387,672 bags of DAP fertilizer,the meeting was informed.
Farmers’ representatives also highlighted issues relating to seed quality,fertilizer availability and canal water supply.
The secretary responded to their queries and issued directions for resolving the problems.
