LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday ordered the brick lining to be completed
all watercourses in the province in five years under “Sarsabz Punjab Khushaal Khastkaar”
initiative.
The Chief Minister chaired the meeting where various agricultural projects were formally approved.
In the meeting, a project was approved under which, in addition to the solar tube project, all water courses in Punjab would be drained.
In the first phase, 1,200 watercourses would be unloaded within two years at a cost of 10 billion crowns, and in the second phase, 7,000 watercourses would be unloaded. Farmers who own up to 25 acres of land would be provided with a solar system within two years.
At the meeting, the Secretary of Agriculture informed the Chief Minister about agricultural projects.
In the meeting, it was decided to provide 56 types of agricultural machinery to farmers with 60% subsidy, while farmers will get 1000 laser leveling machines in the next six months.
Maryam Nawaz directed the relevant authorities to increase the seed production from 400,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes.
The meeting also discussed a proposal to grow soybean seeds on 100,000 acres of land in collaboration with the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
The Chief Minister said the federal government would be contacted to waive tax and duty on high-tech agricultural machinery.
In order to control smog and prevent crop residue burning, the meeting unanimously decided to contact the federal government to waive the tax on rice straw crushing machine.
The meeting was told that high-tech agricultural machinery is subject to 30 to 37% tax and duty.
Under the mechanization plan, agricultural machinery worth Rs 2 billion would be purchased in three months and machines would be provided to farmers on subsidy.
Under the two-year mechanization plan, farmers would receive a subsidy of 23,000 agricultural machines and 2,280 laser land levelers.
The country’s wheat requirement was 29 million tonnes, while Punjab produces 26 million tonnes.
Annually, 1.75 million tonnes of seed was required in the country for sowing various crops and seed worth Rs 50 billion was imported. The meeting was attended by Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani, Punjab Chief Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and others.
