Sindh Agriculture Minister, Sardar Muhammad BakhshMahar on Monday directed to constitute a Rapid Response Force for assisting farmers in case of natural calamities like heavy rains and flooding in the province. The minister was chairing an introductory meeting with officers of the Agriculture Department that was attended by Secretary of Agriculture Rafiq Ahmed Buriro, Director General (DG) Research Noor Muhammad Baloach, DG of Water Management, DG of Engineering and other officers of the department.
Teams of the Rapid Response Force will be on alert to assist the affected farmers and all the officers would pay surprise visits to their corresponding areas and fulfill their targets, he outlined.
Highlighting the importance of the agriculture sector Muhammad BakhshMahar said that the use of technology and access of farmers to findings of agricultural research were necessary to enhance production in Sindh. He urged all the officers to improve their performance and utilize all their abilities for the growth of the agriculture sector and directed that water management, research, engineering, training, and extension wings of the department should be made more active with a focus on digitization. Referring to declining trends of cotton cultivation in the province, he directed that better varieties of cotton should be introduced in Sindh to encourage farmers to cultivate cotton crops. The minister was briefed about the performance of different wings and progress on ongoing projects of the agriculture department.
The meeting was informed that aRs 60,000 subsidy is being given to the owners of land up to 12.5 acres during the third phase of the assistance program and a helpline center was functional to provide information to farmers while training on rooftop farming was also being imparted to citizens.
