ISLAMABAD: Tensions flared between Punjab and Balochistan on Wednesday after the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security learned that the Punjab Seed Corporation had stopped supplying seeds to Balochistan amid a severe nationwide shortage.
During the meeting, Balochistan’s agriculture secretary raised the issue before the committee, while the Federal Seed Certification Department confirmed that only 4,000 tonnes of seed were available against the national requirement of 68,000 tonnes.
The committee directed the Ministry of National Food Security to convene a meeting with the provincial secretaries of Punjab and Balochistan to resolve the issue.
The ministry told the panel that it had instructed all provinces to enforce seed regulations through their agriculture extension departments to ensure a steady supply of quality seeds. However, only Punjab had implemented the directive. The committee ordered the ministry to send formal notices to all provinces and require written responses within 15 days.
Members of the committee also voiced concern over the rising prices of fertilisers, particularly DAP and urea, which have surged from Rs12,000 to Rs15,000 per bag. They urged the government to intervene and curb hoarding and market manipulation.
Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain said the ministry would hold a meeting on Friday to review import data and align domestic fertiliser prices with global trends.
To protect farmers’ incomes, the committee proposed introducing minimum support prices for sugarcane and other key crops. It criticised delays in sugar mill procurement, saying they have discouraged crop rotation and pushed prices down.
The minister said the government had reached an agreement with sugar millers to ensure timely and fair payments to growers. He added that the government would make storage facilities accessible through bank financing schemes.
On wheat, the ministry assured the committee that Pakistan had sufficient buffer stocks, especially for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through PASSCO, and confirmed that the minimum support price would remain unchanged despite IMF reservations.
During a briefing on the olive sector, officials said Pakistan currently hosts seven million olive trees compared to 400 million in Spain, but the country’s yield rate stands at 28 percent — far higher than the global average of 6–7 percent. They noted that the global olive market is valued at $15 billion, offering Pakistan vast export potential.
Officials said the Pak Olive project aims to meet domestic demand by 2030, with cultivation spread across 131 districts. The government sells subsidised saplings for Rs200–300 through registered nurseries. Although olives are drought-resistant, the sector still faces water shortages and post-harvest challenges.
The committee recommended updating zoning clusters, promoting public-private partnerships, expanding farmer training, and developing national certification and branding systems to strengthen the olive industry.
The panel also reviewed a delayed joint research centre project in Khairpur — a collaboration between PARC and Khairpur University. Since no progress had been made, the committee formed a subcommittee led by Syed Javed Ali Shah to oversee the matter.
On tobacco, the KP Agriculture Department informed the panel that companies were buying only premium-quality tobacco and rejecting lower-grade produce due to weather and storage issues. The committee directed the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) to coordinate with the KP government to resolve the issue and provide complete data on corporate social responsibility spending by all tobacco firms.
Senior officials from the Ministry of National Food Security, FBR, PARC, NSDRA, olive and tobacco departments, and growers’ associations attended the meeting.
