Agriculture being largest sector of economy has potential to pull out the country form current economic crisis. This was said by Ahmad Ali Aulakh, Minister for Agriculture, Punjab while chairing meeting for providing agricultural implements, machinery at subsidised cost to farmers under ADP project.
The meeting was attended by Director General Agriculture (Field), Director General Agriculture (Extension), Director General Agriculture (Water Management) and Agricultural machinery manufactures in Punjab. The minister for Agriculture said that this particular sector is source of raw material for industry besides meeting food requirements of burgeoning population. He added that current government has taken a number of initiatives in very short time to promote mechanised farming and to enhance farmer's income in the province.
He said these initiatives and interventions including launching of Green Tractor Subsidy Scheme, provision of 13 different agricultural implements, machinery at subsidised rate and reducing bulldozers rent for land development from Rs 1200/- to Rs 560/- per hour will yield positive result to enhance agricultural productivity.
He underlined that applications received under Green Tractor Scheme are being scrutinised and 10000 tractors will be provided with subsidy of Rs 200,000 per tractor during current financial year. He further said that Agriculture Department Punjab launched effective drive to check fake, spurious and substandard pesticides during current Kharif and pesticides worth Rs 24 crore were recovered.
The minister for Agriculture requested agricultural machinery manufactures to reduce their profit margin for providing implements and machinery to farmers for which 55 crore rupees are being provided as subsidy by Punjab government. The minister reiterated that all measures will be taken to protect interests of all stakeholders, particular by the growers in Punjab.