Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the recent reduction in DAP fertiliser price will help improve agriculture productivity and promote rural economy.
The Prime Minister said this while talking to senior PML leader Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, who called on him at the Prime Minister House this afternoon. The Prime Minister said that agriculture is the backbone of the country's economy and the government is working to further improve the agricultural income and the standard of living of the people residing in the rural areas as they constitute more than 60 percent of the country's population.
Shaukat said the government is taking various measures to improve agricultural inputs, productivity and as such farm income which has already resulted in bringing about reduction in poverty in the rural areas. But, he said, more needs to be done and various initiatives to have better seeds, cheaper fertilisers and other inputs and increase in support prices are being taken to diversify agricultural income.
In addition, the Prime Minister said, we are also introducing micro-finance and rural support programme to provide skills to both men and women in the rural areas, to improve the health and education facilities there and to build better infrastructure in these areas so that the rural economy can play its due role in the overall development of the country.
He said that the other area of priority for the government is agribusiness and agricultural marketing so that the farmer gets better return for his produce and ensures a steady demand for his products.
Wattoo said that the reduction in the price of DAP fertiliser by Rs 250 is a major initiative of the federal government and has been very well received by the agricultural community as an excellent gesture to improve farm income. He said such measures should be encouraged so as to improve the income of the farmer. He also appreciated the government's focus on development by providing roads, gas, electricity and water supply schemes in his constituency so that people can benefit directly from the historic development expenditure being incurred by the government.-PR
Comments
Comments are closed.