The NWFP Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Arbab Muhammad Ayub Jan, has said that 2.7 million acre land will be brought under cultivation to meet the wheat requirement in the next five years. He said this while presiding over a high level meeting of agriculture extension wing here on Saturday.

What started as an ambitious dream, for a desert nation bereft of rivers and lakes to become self-sufficient in wheat, became a reality with the aid of billions of dollars from the first oil boom in the 1970s. Today, however, Saudi Arabia is preparing to phase out production by 2016. The volte-face could make the Gulf nation one of the world's top 15 importers of the cereal, even as countries across the globe grapple with high wheat prices.

Out on the American farm, the ducks and pheasants are losing ground. Thousands of farmers are pulling their fields out of the government's biggest conservation program, spurning guaranteed annual payments for a chance to cash in on the boom in wheat, soybeans, corn and other crops. Last fall, they took back as many acres as are in Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Standing crops including wheat and some localities were inundated as rainwater caused a 20-feet wide breach in Rajbah Mison near Alipur on Shah Jewna-Lalian Road, about some 40-km from here last night. According to reports, Alipur, Thattha Karana, Chund Phatak, Basti Odan Wali and other adjoining localities and fields were flooded with water due to this breach. Some mud houses in the areas were also collapsed. However, no loss of life was reported.

Australia Says Stable Food Supplier Despite Drought JAPAN: April 7, 2008 TOKYO - Australia has demonstrated that it is a reliable, global supplier of wheat and other food, despite up to seven years of drought that has cut deeply into crop production, Agriculture Minister Tony Burke said on Friday. The droughts, particularly bad in the past two years, have prompted concerns within the food industry in Japan, which is heavily dependent on imports, about the reliability of Australia as a stable supplier.

The churn in weather in north and northwest India has tossed up the threat of hailstorm to standing rabi crop, especially wheat, which has entered the harvesting stage. As of now, hailstorm is the only meteorological event that could harm the prospects of the standing wheat crop. The extended winter this year and the cooler climes are otherwise seen as aiding the cause of a bumper rabi harvest this year.

Much like what happened last year, the FCI is unlikely to be able to procure the amount of wheat it needs to.

Soyabean and wheat prices continued falling yesterday as traders chewed over the implications of the dramatic shifts in agricultural production likely across the US farming industry this year. Both soyabeans and wheat are on course for a large increase in farmland devoted to their production, while last year's rush by US farmers into corn to feed the requirements of the ethanol industry will be partially reversed.

Sitting on a stock of 5.5 million tonnes of wheat before the marketing season, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) today expressed confidence that it would meet the government's procurement target o