Pakistani agriculture is facing numerous challenges that are hampering agricultural productivity and it is the mission of agricultural scientists to find ways to increase agriculture production in the country, said Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh, Minister for Agriculture Punjab.
Addressing agriculture scientists, farmers, and trainers at a training workshop held at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, the minister said that the Punjab Government is formulating a comprehensive, sustainable and dynamic policy to make agriculture profitable in the current situation.
The workshop was arranged by the Institute of Horticultural Sciences with the co-operation of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to teach of trainers of Poly-Tunnel Cultivation in Vegetables.
Aulakh mentioned that Pakistan was an agrarian country, but has failed to fully exploit its available potential in the field. He mentioned that the government was negotiating with growers, tillers, agriculture scientists and other stakeholders to finalise a workable and progressive agriculture policy to meet future challenges.
Continuing, the minister said the government had decided to give 60,000 acres of land to agriculture graduates. "It would not only provide jobs to the educated youth but also provide them an opportunity to transform agriculture from labour intensive to a knowledge and technology based profession," Aulakh added.
The minister announced that Rs 640 million have been allocated for the promotion of tunnel technology. He hoped that, "it would encourage progressive farmers to grow non-seasonal and demand-oriented vegetables for export purposes," and added that Rs 500 million has also been allocated to provide agriculture appliances and gadgets at subsidised rates.
Aulakh said that this step would promote mechanical farming at the grass root level in Pakistan. He said that government has also chalked out a program to provide 10,000 tractors at subsidised rate, for which Rs 2 billion has already been earmarked.
He further said that the subsidy on DAP has been increased up to Rs 1000 per bag, while bulldozer fares have also been slashed. "It would help farmers to level more and more lands to bring it under plough" the minister said. Regarding transfer of technology, the minister said that government was striving hard to transfer new technologies to the doorsteps of farmers and that the extension department would be further upgraded.
Aulakh added that the Punjab government was committed to weed out the menace of fake, adulterated and substandard fertilisers and pesticides, and that people involved in it would not be spared.
Continuing, he promised that the best possible facilities would be provided to the researchers and the complaints of agriculture scientists would also be addressed shortly. The agriculture minister also said that the agriculture sector was under stress due to the high cost of inputs and a policy is being framed, in consultation with private sector and all other stakeholders, to help the industry with this. It would not only increase the profitability of agriculture but also play its role in alleviating rural poverty, he added.
About tunnel farming, he said that fast depleting water resources have enhanced the importance of this technology. Non-seasonal vegetables could give maximum profits with minimum water and other inputs.
Highlighting the main problems faced by agricultural growers, the minister said that the high cost of farm inputs and attack of insect pests on crops are some of the immediate problems that need to be addressed immediately by agricultural scientists. The minister asked the scientists to adopt pro active approach for control of crop pests particularly cotton mealy bug and CLCV and hoped the scientists would evolve new varieties of crops resistant to these pests.
The minister said that present government is giving top priority to the development of the agriculture sector and small farmers are the main focus of government efforts. The discrimination in the payment of emoluments to different categories of agricultural scientists would be removed. The Punjab government is providing agricultural land to agricultural graduates to establish model farms and increase agricultural production, he explained.
The government is providing farm implements to the growers at a 50 percent subsidy. In order to popularise farm machinery and increase agricultural production, the government would provide ten thousand tractors in one year with a two lach subsidy on each tractor. Phosphoric fertilisers have also been heavily subsidised.
Aulakh further stated that the government is importing one hundred new bulldozers and repairing old ones. The minister highlighted the importance of improving agriculture marketing system in the country and spoke of the government's efforts in this regard.
Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Vice Chancellor University of Agriculture, Faisalabad stressed the need to diversify export base with the development of horticulture sector and introduction of high value crops. Syed Iqbal Qadwaie, General Manager (SMEDA) and Dr Khalid Mahmood, Manager, Agri. Business (SMEDA) also spoke on the occasion and informed about the main activities and objectives of SMEDA.