LAHORE: Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi Monday said that the under National Plan to increase Wheat Production, subsidies worth Rs 12.59 billion are being provided to the farmers to increase the production of wheat per acre.
The campaign to grow more wheat under Agriculture Department Punjab concluded on Monday as its last program was held at Khawaja Farid University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan.
On this occasion, Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi, while speaking as a chief guest, said that wheat is our strategic crop in which self-sufficiency increases the country’s prestige.
He said that if we increase the production by 4 to 5 maunds per acre, then we can meet the food needs of the country. Farmers of Rahim Yar Khan are innovative and this is the reason why this district excels in crop production.
He further said that this year, wheat cultivation target for Punjab was 16.5 million acres while the production target 22 million metric tons has been set for which all resources are being utilized.
On this occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Tahir said that promotion of mechanization is necessary for innovation in agriculture. The University is taking practical measures for this purpose.
On this occasion, Director General Agriculture Extension, Punjab Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali said that this year, 50 thousand students from universities participated in the campaign to grow more wheat. The aim is timely cultivation of wheat on maximum area.
Farmers were guided about the use of approved varieties of seeds and balanced fertilizers. He further said that last year, wheat was cultivated on 0.685 million acres of area in Rahim Yar Khan district from which 1.28 million tons of production was obtained. This year also the farmers will cultivate wheat on maximum area under the national spirit.
To increase the production of wheat per acre this year, the farmers should be given subsidy of Rs. 1200 per bag of approved varieties of wheat and herbicides. Apart from this, in order to promote mechanized cultivation of wheat, the implementation of the program of providing modern agricultural machinery worth billions of rupees to the farmers at 50 percent subsidy is also continued. Any kind of delay at this stage can affect the production.
The staff of the Department of Agriculture (extension) is present in the field alongside the farmers for the awareness and technical guidance of the farmers regarding modern production technology of wheat. In addition, print, electronic and digital media is also being used to ensure the achievement of the target of increasing production per acre.
The farmers can take full advantage of the ongoing farmer-friendly projects of the Punjab government and achieve the wheat production target of Punjab province by cultivating wheat on maximum area. They should play their role for food security.On this occasion, Dr. Saeed Iqbal, an agronomist of a private company, recommended the farmers in the wheat crop to ensure the balanced and timely use of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers in the wheat crop.
On this occasion, the Director of Agriculture Extension Jamshed Khalid Sindhu, Dr. Lal Hussain Akhtar, Dr. Ghulam Abbas and other experts also informed about modern production technology of wheat.
Deputy Director of Agriculture Information Punjab Navid Asmat Kahlon, Deputy Director of Agriculture Extension Iqar Hussain and a large number of officers of Agriculture Department and progressive farmers participated in this Kissan Convention.
