'Tunnel technology' for vegetable production is gaining popularity among the growers and farmers in the Sialkot district. A large number of farmers are trying to adopt tunnel farming aimed at producing the off-season vegetables for improving the economic conditions.
Provincial Agriculture Department has designed this new agriculture technology keeping in view the fast changing trends in the agriculture sector for the production of off-season crops, round the year. Under tunnel farming technology, the crops would be cultivated in a set temperature for attaining maximum output of the vegetables as a result of which, the farmers could get maximum profit by selling the vegetable before season.
Under the farming, vegetables like cucumber, tomato, green chilly, paprika, pumpkin, bitter gourd, watermelon and melon etc could be cultivated. Official sources in the agriculture department told Business Recorder here Friday that Provincial government would provide 50 percent subsidy on "Walk in Tunnels" and "Low Tunnels" to the growers in the Province.
As many as 70 farmers have successfully installed walk in and low tunnel farming in Sialkot, Daska, Pasrur and Sambrial tehsils of the district. Meanwhile, the practical training of growers and farmers was being carried out under "Farmers Field School", enabling them to tart tunnel farming in their respective areas.
The per-acre yield of vegetables cultivated under the tunnel farming technology is much more fruitful as compared to the traditional farming. The tunnel technology would not only help in improving the economic conditions of the grower community, but also would generate employment opportunities in Punjab.