LAHORE: Only 35 per cent of the farmers in Pakistan are using modern agricultural equipment to carry out their operations far less than the neighboring countries in South Asia.
To increase this ratio, a two-year plan is being implemented with an amount of Rs 6.5 billion to provide agricultural machinery to the farmers in the Punjab province, said the Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo while briefing the Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani here on Wednesday.
Under this project, farmers will be provided modern agricultural machinery and equipment, establishment of model centers and solar tube wells on subsidy basis.
The Punjab Minister while speaking on this occasion said that during the next three months, 1800 agricultural implements and machinery will be provided to the farmers at a cost of Rs. 500 million through a transparent manner at 60% subsidy. He directed to arrange this balloting at Assistant Commissioner Offices of concerned tehsils in the presence of local MNAs & MPAs.
It was also informed at the meeting that two model centers will be established in the province initially in Multan and Depalpur where from loans, standard fertilizers, pesticides and advisory will be provided to farmers under one window operation. It was also briefed that at present 15% tube-wells in Punjab is being operated with electricity and 85% of tube-wells are powered by diesel, which are source of 50 per cent irrigation in Punjab. The plan to install solar tube wells is being finalized to reduce the production cost of farmers.
The Minister Agriculture directed that either new tube wells should be installed on the solar system or old tube wells should be converted to solar system, it should depend on the will of the farmer and the federal government should also be taken on board in this regard.
Apart from this, an important plan to increase citrus production and exports is also being finalized. Under which citrus orchards will be geo-tagging with the support of agriculture extension staff and 1 lakh disease-free citrus plants will be produced annually. Apart from this, model orchards of citrus should also be developed in Sargodha district under this project.
The Provincial Minister said that the timeline of all these projects should be followed carefully. The Punjab Government’s priorities are to deliver the results of these projects to the farmers and reduce their production costs so that the farmers can prosper and the country’s economy can grow.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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