# Pastebin CtmeY7o2
--- a/src/deb/build.c
+++ b/src/deb/build.c
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ tarball_pack(const char *dir, filenames_feed_func *tar_filenames_feeder,
     snprintf(mtime, sizeof(mtime), "@%jd", options->timestamp);
 
     command_init(&cmd, TAR, "tar -cf");
-    command_add_args(&cmd, "tar", "-cf", "-", "--format=gnu",
+    command_add_args(&cmd, "tar", "-cf", "-", "--format=gnu", "--sparse",
                            "--mtime", mtime, "--clamp-mtime", NULL);
     /* Mode might become a positional argument, pass it before -T. */
     if (options->mode)