ISLAMABAD: Punjab is leading the wheat sowing campaign for Rabi 2025-26, with sowing completed on time and 90 per cent achieved under early sowing, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research announced on Wednesday.

The second meeting of the National Wheat Oversight Committee, held here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, reviewed wheat sowing progress, current wheat stocks and the status of implementation of the interim national wheat policy.

The ministry has yet to finalise the national wheat policy, which has been under consideration for several months. The federal government has set a wheat production target of over 30 million tonnes for the Rabi season 2025-26, anticipating no shortage of water in Punjab and Sindh — the two major wheat-growing provinces.

Punjab’s production target has been fixed at 26m tonnes from an area of about 20m acres. Sindh is expected to produce 4.43m tonnes, while targets for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan stand at 1.71m tonnes and 1.69m tonnes, respectively.

The committee reviewed province-wise wheat sowing progress and noted that Punjab has witnessed a significant increase in the use of certified wheat seed, alo­ng with higher uptake of urea fertiliser, largely due to improved availability and comparatively lower prices.

In Sindh, wheat sowing progress was described as satisfactory and has surpassed sowing targets. In Balochistan, sowing remains lower due to insufficient rainfall; however, the shortfall is expected to be covered following upcoming rains.

In KP, a substantial portion of sowing has been completed, although sowing in snowbound areas is delayed. Overall, wheat sowing targets across all provinces are expected to be achieved.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2026