LAHORE: Growers have cultivated wheat on 0.937 million acres of land against the target of bringing 1.82 million acres under wheat crop in Multan division for the season 2024-25.
To expedite efforts toward meeting this target, further instructions have been issued, with technical human resources deployed for field activities. Interns and agricultural university students have been assigned to support the wheat campaign. Failure to meet targets will not be tolerated, said Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo.
He was chairing a high-level meeting on wheat cultivation at the Commissioner’s Office in Multan today. The meeting was attended by Special Secretary for Agriculture (South Punjab) Sarfraz Hussain Magassi, Commissioner Multan Maryam Khan, Additional Secretary of the Task Force Shabbir Ahmed Khan, Directors General of Agriculture Abdul Hameed and Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Deputy Commissioner Multan Waseem Hamid Sandhu, along with the Deputy Commissioners of Khanewal, Vehari, and Lodhran, who participated online.
During the meeting, Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo highlighted that the Chief Minister Punjab has introduced a special package to promote wheat cultivation. As part of this package, 1,000 tractors and 1,000 laser land levellers will be provided free of charge through a lottery system. All available resources will be mobilized to achieve the wheat cultivation targets, with robust support from the divisional and district administrations. At the divisional level, the Commissioner will lead the campaign, while the Deputy Commissioners will oversee it at the district level.
Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo assured that phosphorus and urea fertilizers are available in ample supply in the market, and for the first time, they are being offered at controlled prices. Professional guidance will be provided to farmers on modern wheat production technology.
He disclosed from November 20, farmers will have the option to withdraw 30% of their cash benefits via the Kissan Card. Responding to the rising demand, the number of Kissan Cards has been increased from 0.5 million to 0.75 million.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024