LAHORE: Emphasizing the significance of sustainable agriculture, Senior Resource Specialist Noriko Sato has assured full cooperation to the Punjab government from the Japanese Government towards Punjab's agricultural advancement.

He said a substantial sum of $100 million will be allocated to facilitate farmers under the sustainable agriculture initiative in Punjab during the year 2025. Climate-smart agricultural machinery will be disseminated through established service providers, with dedicated centers for machinery assessment. This concerted effort aims to democratize access to modern machinery, enabling even small-scale farmers to leverage its benefits, he added.

Noriko was speaking to the Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo here today. He was leading a delegation of the Asian Development Bank.

The meeting witnessed the presence of key stakeholders, including Additional Secretary of Agriculture (Planning) Captain Waqas Rashid (retd), Director General of Agriculture Field Engineer Ahmed Sohail, Director General of Agriculture (Extension) Dr. Ishtiaq Hasan, Director of Agricultural Information, Punjab, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, alongside other distinguished officers, signifying a collective commitment towards ushering in a new era of agricultural prosperity in Punjab.

Speaking on this occasion, Secretary Agriculture, Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said that all the interventions proposed in the project are very important. More than 70 percent of the funding under the project will be utilized on farm mechanization. Farmer can use modern farm machinery through service providers. Workshops will be organized under this project where experts will review the technical aspects of import, procurement, quality and efficiency of machines.

On the occasion, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo gave instructions to the officers concerned to finalize project’s all aspects so that work on it can be started soon.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024