The Punjab government has constituted a five-member implementation committee to carry out work on a three-year project of "promotion of high-value agriculture through provision of climate smart technology" aimed at enhancing crop and water productivity through application of modern irrigated agriculture development technologies.
According to the information issued by the Punjab Agriculture department here on Thursday, the Punjab government has introduced a climate smart technology project under "Kissan Package" to achieve higher and quality crop productivity. The government will spend a huge sum of Rs 127.75 million on this project which will be completed in three years.
Convenor of the said implementation committee will be the Secretary Agriculture Punjab while Director General Agriculture (Field), Director General Agriculture (Water Management), Director General Agriculture (Extension) will be its members and the project director will perform as the Secretary Committee, the information added. According to the project details, Punjab government is committed to revamping the agriculture sector to utilise its full potential to drive prosperity in the province for wellbeing of the farmers.
Punjab Growth Strategy (PGS), 2018, envisions making a secure, economically vibrant, industrialised and knowledge-based province which is prosperous and where every citizen can expect to lead a fulfilling life. The PGS also envisages enhancing growth in agriculture by facilitating productivity improvement, increasing competitiveness in agriculture marketing and trade by providing a climate conducive to private sector investment, improving supply chain and value addition.
Despite immense potential, Punjab's agriculture suffers from low productivity due to poor farm management practices, high production costs, inadequate water availability and limited knowledge of employing modern technologies for crop production. Small farmers are unable to make use of modern technologies due to their poor economic conditions and high initial cost of technologies.
Climate is one of the main determinants of agricultural production, which throughout the world, is emerging as one of the main concerns for water resources management and water use activities, especially for agricultural production. The agriculture sector of developing countries, Pakistan being not an exception, has become more vulnerable to the phenomenon due to their geographic, climatic, and economic settings. Owing to these challenges, adoption of climate smart sustainable technologies is need of the hour.
The interventions envisaged under the proposed project would entail promotion of a hi-tech technologies including solar system and tunnel technology for enhancing crop yields, increasing farm incomes, improving livelihood of people, enabling farmers to adjust the agricultural practices with varying environments, promoting renewable energy sources and alleviating poverty in the province. It is indicated that the solar system would be provided for operating high efficiency irrigation systems.