LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to extend a subsidy to farmers interested in sunflower cultivation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acre in a bid to encourage the growers for increasing the area under oilseed crop cultivation.

The subsidy is being extended under the national plan to promote the production of oilseeds and bring down the import bill of edible oil, said a spokesman of the agriculture department here on Monday.

Pakistan imports edible oil worth 300 billion rupees annually, which is an enormous burden on the country’s economy. Therefore, under the national plan to promote the production of oil products, the Punjab government has decided to extend subsidies on oilseed crops.

In this regard, a subsidy is being provided to the registered farmers of Punjab province for up to 20 acres of sunflower cultivation. To avail of the subsidy amount, scratch card number bearing bags of registered companies should be bought from the shops and voucher number along with ID card number should be sent by the farmer to 8070. The growers can get Rs 1000 per acre immediately from their nearest mobile shop on receipt of SMS and receive Rs 4000 per acre after receiving SMS on crop confirmation.

The province has been divided into three parts for sunflower cultivation and the first part includes areas of South Punjab namely Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Vehari, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakkar and Khanewal where the cultivation of sunflower can be done till January 31.

While in the second part Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Jhang, Sahiwal, Okara, Pakpattan, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Chiniot, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib fall where sunflower cultivation time has been fixed from 1st to 31st January.

In the third phase of sunflower cultivation, the period for sunflower cultivation in Narowal, Attock, Rawalpindi, Gujarat, Jhelum and Chakwal districts of North Punjab has been fixed from January to February 15.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023