In a major news for the small-scale farmers of Punjab, the provincial government has launched the Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card program.
The Punjab government will be providing loans totaling Rs150 billion to 500,000 farmers under favorable terms and conditions through this initiative.
During a meeting in Lahore, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday approved the Kisan Card under the “Green Punjab and Khushal Kashtkar” project.
The meeting was attended by senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari, Agriculture Minister Ashiq Hussain, Pervaiz Rasheed, Saud Majeed, Chief Secretary Agriculture, President Bank of Punjab and other officials.
Officials informed the CM that farmers will also be provided an agricultural loan of Rs30,000 per acre under the new initiative. This amount can be used to purchase high-quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and other agricultural necessities, along with additional subsidies.
Furthermore, the Punjab government will collaborate with the private sector to establish Model Agriculture Centers (MAC) across the province. The agriculture centers will be equipped with cutting-edge agricultural machinery. Additionally, it will also feature training programs, availability of pesticides and seeds, and demonstration plots.
In the initial phase, a model agriculture center will be established in each district to combat the issue of counterfeit fertilizers and medications. The agriculture department was ordered by the CM to compile data about each crop, its demand and per-acre yield.
Maryam Nawaz also directed to establish state of the art Research and Development Centre in Agriculture University Faisalabad for the promotion of research on cotton, wheat and rice seeds. A budget of Rs.2 billion will be allocated for the purpose.
The Center of Excellence will collaborate with regional universities to advance its capabilities. It will focus on research areas such as climate change, speed breeding, genomics, and germplasm resources.
Officials also informed Maryam Nawaz about the planned amendments to the Agriculture Pesticides Act and the Fertilizers Control Act to stop the sale of spurious agricultural drugs and fertilizers.
The meeting decided to introduce a law that will prohibit the the use of agricultural land for residential purposes. Moreover, it was also agreed that 500 agriculture graduates will be hired for the modernization of the agricultural extension wing.
In the next two years, 24,800 state-of-the-art agricultural equipment will be supplied to farmers at a cost of Rs7 billion.
Way to go, We are luck to have PMLN in Punjab mostly from last 15 years. Development is unmatched in every sector.
Yes, its true that PMLN works and deliver. if you minus all projects of PMLN, you will have nothing. Peshawar BRT may be?
No last 5 years from Buzdar era
The budget of Punjab is being used for personal publicity. This should not be tolerated. Please stop using any Party president name. This money is coming from the pockets of tax payers, not from the pocket of Nawaz Sharif.