CM Punjab’s Kissan Card scheme: Farmers having arable land will be included in 2nd phase: minister

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani said on Monday that small and medium-scale farmers having up to 25 acres of arable land will be included in the second phase of the Chief Minister Punjab’s Kissan Card scheme.

He said that the per-acre loan limit will also be increased in the second phase to benefit more farmers. He called upon the need for eliminating transaction charges on purchases made through Kissan Card.

Meanwhile, through digital balloting, 8,000 farmers have been selected for solar tube wells, including 6,400 diesel and 1,600 electric tube wells, and allotment letters will be issued from February 6.

The Minister was presiding over a high-level meeting at Agriculture House, Lahore, which had a detailed review of the progress of the Chief Minister Punjab’s Kissan Package projects and early cotton cultivation.

The Minister said so far, 534,000 Kissan Cards have been approved, and Rs54 billion has been allocated for the initiative. Of this amount, Rs34.5 billion has already been utilized, with 87% spent on purchasing fertilizers. Under the Chief Minister Punjab Green Tractor Program, 9,500 successful farmers were selected through balloting, and 9,040 farmers have deposited their share of the amount for tractors. As many as 8,823 tractors have been manufactured, and 6,635 tractors have been delivered to farmers, while 391 lucky farmers must submit their payments by February 10. The first phase of the Green Tractor Programme will be completed in March.

Under the Chief Minister Punjab Solarization of Agricultural Tube Wells Programme, more than 533,000 applications have been received. After scrutiny, 385,130 applications have been approved, with 87% for diesel-powered and 13% for electric-powered tube wells.

While under the Chief Minister Punjab Grow More Wheat Programme, over 57,000 applications have been received, including 41,383 applications for laser land levelling and 10,266 for green tractor.

Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo stated that implementation of the Chief Minister Punjab Kissan Package is progressing as per timelines. For early cotton cultivation, field officers have been assigned special responsibilities. The high-yield early cotton cultivation drive has been in full swing since January 16, and sowing will take place between February 15 and March 31. He also assured the availability of triple-gene cotton seeds.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025