Pakistan is spending a sizable chunk of its budget on the import of edible oil and the volume is increasing with each passing day due to the growing population. The heavy import budget is putting more strain on the national coffers, reports WealthPK. Agriculture experts are of the view that the budget being spent on import of edible oil can be controlled if the government promotes cultivation of sunflower countrywide. Talking to WealthPK, Ijaz Ahmed, an agricultural scientist, said according to an estimate, Pakistan annually spent Rs300 billion on the import of edible oil, which was denting its agriculture and economy. He said it was the need of the hour to focus on the products which could lessen edible oil import bill, and sunflower production offered the best solution. Official records of the Punjab government show that Pakistan currently produced only 18% of required edible oil and spent a huge amount on its import. The share of sunflower in the local production of oil stands at 11%. As an excellent source of various vitamins like A, B and K, the sunflower seed contains 40% oil content. It also contains 90 percent of unsaturated fatty acids and is considered best for heart patients.

The record further reads, “Sunflower contains 30% monounsaturated Omega-9 and 59% polyunsaturated Omega-6. It has short growth period (100-120 days) and can be grown twice a year and has the ability to be well-fitted in different crop rotations.” The farmers in different districts of Punjab are cultivating sunflower, including Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur, Raheem Yar Khan, Multan, Vehari, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakar, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Jhang, Sialkot, Gujranwala, and Lahore. Talking to WealthPK, Bilal Ahmed, a farmer who prefers to cultivate wheat, said he was ready to grow sunflower but negative elements would start exploiting the farmers when the crop would hit the market. “One of my friends is also considering cultivating sunflower. The farmers also want to strengthen the national economy through agriculture but people at the helm are not saving them from the exploitation of middle man and natural calamities,” Bilal said. Quoting an example, he said the farmers who lost their crops due to the floods, were waiting for the revival of their business.

He said they were only being pacified verbally. Ijaz said the farmers could help Pakistan meet the edible oil requirements but first of all the government will have to devise a strategy so that they could get return for their hard work. He said Pakistan could also fetch the much-needed forex by exporting sunflower oil, as the farming community had the exceptional potential to make the country self-sufficient in edible oil through sunflower cultivation. Mubeen Ahmed, a spokesperson for the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), said they were trying to convince the farmers to cultivate sunflower. He said this year, the Punjab government has set the target of cultivating sunflower over 2, 10,000 acres. The entire province has been divided into three parts where the government will help the farmers adopt this crop, he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)