LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to provide as many as 56 types of agricultural machinery to farmers. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, here on Thursday.
The meeting was briefed that under mechanization plan, agricultural machinery will be purchased at a cost of Rs2 billion and it will be given to farmers on subsidized rates. About 1000 lazer levellers will be given to the farmers during the next 6 months.
The meeting also approved a programme for cementing the water channels across Punjab in a bid to avoid wastage of irrigation water. In the first phase, 1,200 water channels will be concreted at a cost of Rs10 billion while in the 2nd phase, 7,000 channels will be solidified to save irrigation water in the province.
Secretary Agriculture briefed the participants of the meeting about different projects.
During the meeting, it was decided to contact the federal government to remove tax on rice straw shredder machines to control smog and prevent crop residue burning. The meeting was informed that under the two-year mechanization plan, 23,000 agricultural equipment and 2,280 laser land levellers will be given to farmers at a cost of Rs13.4 billion.
The Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif also gave the approval for the Solar Tube well Project. Farmers holding up to 25 acres of land will be provided with solar systems in two years.
The meeting was informed that Pakistan needs 29 million tonnes of wheat for its annual requirement while Punjab was producing 26 million tonnes of wheat. About 1.75 million tonnes of seeds are required annually for the cultivation of various crops.
Moreover, the Punjab government has planned to increase seed production from 0.4 million tonnes to 0.6 million tonnes. There is a proposal of cultivation of soybean seed on 100,000 acres land with the support of University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
The CM Maryam Nawaz said the federal government will be approached to abolish taxes and duties on high-tech agricultural machinery.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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