Agriculture department said that a two-year "Crop maximization through cooperative farming project costing Rs400 million would soon be launched in three districts of the Punjab. Sources in Agriculture department told Business Recorder on Sunday that the plan would be carried out in Sialkot, Sargodha and Rahim Yar Khan districts of the Province.

The concept of the plan was to increase productivity and profitability of small farmers in project districts through participatory approach of learning by doing, food security and alleviating poverty through improving income of small farmers.

Special attention under the programme would be focused on increasing productivity of major crops like wheat, rice, cotton sugarcane and maize from 10 to 15 percent per acre and reduce their cost of production as well as to ensure the availability of food round year on affordable price.

80 percent farmers were small holding land from 0.5 to 10 acres in the Province an over the years attempts had been made to improve the condition of small farmers but capital intensive modern technologies and improved means of enhancing farm productivity remained out financial range of the small farmers, sharecropper and tenants.

Unfortunately, majority of the farmers had limited access to the institutional credit facility and they could not use or adopt the improved technologies or purchase critical inputs as certified seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and water.

Special focus under the programme would be accorded on formulation and registration of 137 village organizations (VOs), establishment and operation of revolving fund to tune of Rs. 297.080 million in the VOs, setting up of operation of 14 implement pools, establishment of 137 farmers field schools for farmers capacity building, setting up of 14 income diversification intervention and establishment of 14 input sale centres in project districts sources disclosed.