The Federal Food Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan disclosed on Monday that the government would launch a Rs 670 million programme aimed at providing training to small farmers of Balochistan to enable them using modern farming techniques. During a meeting with Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani here on Tuesday, he said the government would also establish pesticide and fibre development laboratories in the province to enhance crop productivity.
Under the national research programme, Bosan said the government would use all resources to train and convince small farmers for the use of progressive farming to increase acreage especially in arid region.
The minister told the governor that the government was working on a micro-management policy to overcome the acute water shortage particularly in drought-affected areas of Balochistan.
The water shortage, Bosan expressed fear, which was the major problem could pose a serious threat to government's target of wheat production for ongoing Rabi season.
The government has set 20.2 million tonnes wheat production target for current Rabi season, but in the wake of Indus River System Authority (Irsa) projection of 40 percent shortage of water for the crop as compared to last year, it looks difficult to achieve.
The government, however, has time and again expressed hope it would achieve the target covering the water shortage by other measures including an 'overwhelming' increase in the area under crop cultivation and judicious use of herbicides and pesticides.
The minister said the government had also finalised a plan aimed at importing bulldozers for farmers, out of which 200 would be distributed in Balochistan alone.
The government, Bosan told Owais, considers that agri development was an effective tool to reduce rural poverty and would spare no efforts to promote agriculture sector in Balochistan.