RAWALPINDI: Punjab Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani on Monday said the Punjab government had announced special incentives for farmers cultivating wheat on large areas.

This season the government had fixed a target of cultivating wheat on 16.5 million acres in the province, Mr Kirmani said in a review meeting on wheat cultivation held at the Commissioner Office.

The provincial minister said Punjab had set a target of cultivating wheat on 16.5 million acres. To encourage farmers, the Punjab government had announced a special incentive package worth billions of rupees, under which 1,000 tractors and 1,000 laser land levelers will be provided free of cost through a transparent balloting.

The minister said the Rawalpindi division was assigned a wheat cultivation target of 1.491 million acres, though the cultivation had already exceeded this target, covering over 1.503 million acres.

The provincial minister further shared that more than Rs24 billion worth of DAP fertiliser had been purchased using the Kisan Card, which will contribute significantly to enhancing wheat production.

Furthermore, he said the Punjab government had increased the number of Kisan Cards from 500,000 to 750,000. He acknowledged the active collaboration of the divisional and district administrations with the Punjab Agriculture Department in the wheat cultivation drive.

The minister also announced that the balloting process for 9,500 green tractors had been completed transparently, with a subsidy of Rs1 million per tractor.

Allotment letters have been issued to the farmers, who are required to deposit their share of the amount in the nearest Bank of Punjab branch by Dec 5. Tractors will be delivered on a first-come-first-served basis.

Moreover, he said students from agricultural universities participated in the wheat cultivation campaign for two weeks, providing farmers with guidance on best practices. Under the Chief Minister Punjab Internship Programme, agricultural graduates are actively engaged in field activities across the province.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2024