PESHAWAR: USAID-ERDA on Monday provided certified sunflower, maize, and red bean seeds to 2,800 farmers in District Orakzai with the aim of boosting food security in the region.
The beneficiaries include 20% women and the under-served population. The program has distributed certified and improved red bean, maize, and hybrid sunflower varieties for the Kharif season this year.
As per the data of Crop Statistic Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2020-2021, the total cultivated area of Orakzai is 17,908 hectares, where only 10% is arable and suitable for cultivation. Agriculture is mainly rain-dependent, while some parts of the plains are being irrigated by channels taken out from the Mastura River and its tributaries.
Opportunity for farmers
Agriculture Officer of Orakzai Mohammad Irfan said that the program is a great opportunity for farmers to increase their crop yield and ensure food security in the region. The selected varieties of seeds are suitable for the local soil and climate, and it is hoped that farmers will adopt the latest farming techniques to enhance their productivity.
Ihsan Ullah, a resident of Anjani Lower Orakzai, said that this support is very important for improving crop yields and ensuring food security. With these improved varieties of seeds, more production at a better price would be possible.
The support package includes F One-hybrid sunflower seed for four hundred farmers to grow sunflowers on 0.5 acres, registered red bean seed for four hundred farmers to grow red beans on 0.5 acres, and certified maize seed for two thousand farmers to grow maize on 0.5 acres.
Maize is Pakistan’s third most important cereal crop after wheat and rice. The average productivity of this commodity in the settled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is 1.9 tons/ hectare as compared to 1.09 tons/hectare (57% of settled districts) in the Newly Merge Districts.
