ISLAMABAD: The federal government is optimistic to generate $4.620 billion through additional export of bumper production of major crops including rice and cotton.
The state minister for information and broadcasting, Farrukh Habib in a series of tweets, also said that additional output from wheat, cotton, maize, and sugarcane crops would ensure $2.641 billion savings in import bill.
He said that all these things are becoming possible due to farmer-friendly initiatives taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan to facilitate the farmer community in the country.
He said that initiatives taken by the prime minister to facilitate the farmers included agricultural loans worth Rs1,500 billion and subsidy worth Rs148 billion on fertilizer, which resulted into an additional income of Rs400 billion for the farmers sowing different crops such as wheat, maize, sugarcane, cotton, and rice.
He said that additional production of crops included 2.5 million tons of wheat, two million cotton bales, 540,000 tons of rice, 0.7 million tons of maize, and eight million tons of sugarcane.
He said that said additional output of the sugarcane crops would help increase additional production of 1.326 million tonnes of sweetener.
Later, while talking to journalists along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, he said that Kamyab Jawan Talent Hunt Programme – the biggest sports talent hunt programme to revive the sports culture in the country – is a historic initiative of the government for the youth who are into sports.
He that said several skill development programmes are ongoing across the country for youth under the programme, adding the youth of the country is being provided low-interest loan to start their businesses.
Speaking on the occasion, Dar said that the sports sector and youth of the country were neglected during the last 72 years, and now it is the prime minister who is taking special interest in promotion of sports.
“The prime minister is committed to provide level-playing opportunities to the youth to project their talent and potential and this is happening for the first time in the country,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021