LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi has said that wheat production in Punjab has increased 1.5 maunds per acre this year and hoped that it will go by 3 maunds by next year.
He stated this while addressing farmers' convention at Iqbal Auditorium jointly organized by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab Agricultural Extension Department and Fatima Group at Iqbal Auditorium. He said that the government was taking all possible measures to make agriculture profitable, ensure food security and increase per acre production that will help alleviate poverty at the grassroots level and open new avenues for economic growth.
He said that agriculturists, farmers and scientists would have to make collaborated efforts to increase production. Faisalabad has a prominent position in the field of agricultural sciences. The agricultural scientists of Faisalabad have rendered immense services for the development of agriculture and hoped that they would continue to play their full role in tackling the challenges facing agriculture in the years to come.
He said that due to the farmer-friendly policies of the government and the hard work of the farmers, a record production of 16 million metric tonnes of wheat was achieved in Punjab last year while the production target of wheat this year has been set at 22 million metric tonnes. He said that this year 1 million bags of approved varieties of wheat seeds would be made available to the farmers at subsidized rate of Rs1,200 per bag.
In order to promote mechanized cultivation of wheat, a programme of providing modern machinery worth Rs1.20 billion at 50 percent subsidy is also being implemented. Last year wheat was cultivated on 19.11 lakh acres in Faisalabad division which yielded 2.6 million tonnes.
The Punjab government has issued Kisan Card for providing direct subsidy in case of cash transfer, under which more than 500,000 farmers have so far registered for this card. He asked the farmers to complete the registration of farmer cards as soon as possible so that they could avail the subsidy. He urged the need for students' mobilization of UAF in wheat sowing campaign.
Punjab Agriculture Secretary Asad Rehman Gilani said that a subsidy of Rs12 billion was being given to farmers for the supply of fertilizer. The supply of certified high yielding seeds to the farmers would be ensured. He said that a farmer in the wheat production competition last year has achieved 94 maunds per acre.
He said that a subsidy of Rs1000 per bag was being given on DAP fertilizer to reduce the production cost. They had recommended the federal government to increase the support price of wheat. He said that the issuance of Kisan Card would provide subsidized agricultural inputs to the farmers which would help in increasing the yield per acre. Adoption of modern trends to make agriculture profitable is the need of the hour.
He said that the farmers' convention has provided an opportunity for farmers, agronomists, policy makers and other stakeholders to come together so that they can formulate strategies for solving the problems facing the country's agriculture. He said that seeds must be changed after 5 years.
The production of a progressive farmer is double that of an ordinary farmer and if the common farmer also adopts modern trends, the increase in production would usher in a bright chapter of agricultural prosperity.
Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice Chancellor, UAF, said that our yield per acre was very low due to traditional method of farming community. If the recommendations of agricultural scientists are followed, the production can be doubled. Adoption of modern trends to make agriculture a profitable business is the need of the hour.
He said that wheat seed must be changed after 2 years. The UAF will conduct a social survey on the issues of the farming community to collect the varieties data. "Health problems are arising due to malnutrition. If we make flour from a mixture of wheat and corn, it will also improve the quality of nutrition," he said.
DG Extension Dr Anjum Ali, Dr Yaseen, Dr Abdul Hameed also addressed the function while Vice Chancellor Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi Dr Qamar Zaman was also present. Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Dr Qamar Zaman Khan, Dr Amanullah Malik, Dr Jalal Arif and Dr Haroon Zaman Khan inaugurated the wheat sowing campaign.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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