Staff Reporter
Lahore
Minister for Agriculture Punjab Malik Nauman Ahmed Langriyal while presiding over an emergency meeting organized for farmer organizations in the Agriculture House Lahore said that Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar says that farmers are our capital. In the past, the agriculture sector was ignored but now the protection of the rights of agriculture and farmers are at the top of the current Government’s priorities.
During 2018-19, 6 Million of tonnes of potatoes were exported, which was 1 lakh tonnes more than last year. The government is taking measures to finalize the rate of sugarcane from Rs 180 to 190 per month during this year. Under the Prime Minister’s Agricultural Emergency Program, 4 lakh 32 thousand 500 sacks of certified seeds of approved varieties of wheat are being subsidized to farmers.
The meeting was attended by Rana Ali Arshad Additional Secretary Task Force Punjab, Dr. Anjum Ali Director General Agriculture (Extension), Advisor Minister Punjab Agriculture Shahid Qadir, Rana Iftikhar Ahmed President Anjuman Farmers Punjab, Rao Tariq Ashraf, President Farmers’ Alliance Lodhran, Mian Arshad , Sajid Ashraf Watto President Punjab Youth Farmer’s Alliance, Muhammad Hussain Khokhar, Malik Zulfiqar Hussain Awan, Chaudhry Tabasam Bhallar and other farmer representatives attended this briefing session .
Dr. Anjum Ali Director General Agriculture (Ext & AR) briefed that production of rice remained 4.27 million tonnes and maize 6 million tonnes, which is 0.37 million tonnes and 0.6 million tonnes more as compare to last year, respectively. For the first time cotton crop in 2018-19, the government provided farmers with approved seeds of subsidized varieties up to 1 lakh acre.
On this occasion, Minister for Agriculture Punjab inquired the representatives of the Farmers’ Organizations into their problems and issued orders on the occasion to resolve them.
