Wheat contributes 9.7 percent to the value added in agriculture and 1.7 percent to GDP. Over the past three decades, increased wheat productivity occurred largely due to the deployment of high-yielding varieties, availability of good quality seed, increased fertilizer and better weed control. During 2017-18 wheat season, Pakistan produced 25.50 million ton of wheat from 8.97 million hectare area with average productivity of 2.84 t/ha.Improved semi-dwarf wheat cultivars available in Pakistan have genetic yield potential of 8.0 t / ha under irrigated conditions. Progressive wheat growers of irrigated area are getting grain yield of 5-7 tones hectare.However, national average yield of rainfed wheat and irrigated wheat is around 1.2 and 3.0 tons per hectare, respectively.   

In Pakistan, wheat is grown in different cropping systems, such as; cotton - wheat, rice - wheat, sugarcane - wheat, maize - wheat, legume – wheat and fallow - wheat. The major reasons for low wheat productivity includes: late planting of wheat due to delayed harvesting of kharif crops like cotton, sugarcane and rice, non-availability of quality seed,  inefficient fertilizer use, weed infestation, shortage of irrigation water, drought in rainfed and terminal heat stress in irrigated area.

Wheat program adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in order to develop high yielding, disease resistance and good quality wheat varieties and improved crop management practices.