Procurement of 5.5 million tons of wheat: Passco, PFD asked to make arrangements

Agri Forum Pakistan, Chairman, Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal, has called upon the Punjab Food Department and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) to make immediate arrangements for procurement of 3.5 million tons and 2 million tons wheat, respectively.
Speaking at a seminar on agriculture on Monday, Agri Forum, Chairman said that the provincial government should arrange Rs 132 billion for payment of wheat to the growers, 50 million bags storage place for the coming wheat crop. He suggested that the government should prefer small growers while procuring wheat and issuing gunny bags.
He said that the government should preferable buy wheat from those who would bring up to 1,000 maunds of wheat, for which a grower would need 400 empty gunny bags, he added and said that the government should devise a transparent procurement policy under some rules and regulations. Mughal also suggested that the government should not involved corrupt officers of the food departments and Passco in procurement process in the larger interest of the nation and the growers. He made it clear that wheat harvesting might start in Punjab province within seven weeks. He also claimed that global wheat production this year might come down by 150 to 200 million tons, so wheat of Pakistan should be procured and disposed off in a better manner.