Agricultural production: ‘Fertiliser use models made for farmers’ benefit’

Minister says govt determined to make technology accessible

LAHORE:

Agriculture Minister Farrukh Javed said on Saturday that the department had developed soil-test-based fertilisation models to forecast the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous needed to obtain desired yields of major crops.

Javed made the remarks while speaking to newsmen. He said farmers could instrumentalise these models with regard to production of wheat, sugarcane, cotton, rice and maize. Javed said this would enable farmers to obtain a profit of up to Rs0.1 million per acre from acre from arable cropping and three to four million rupees per acre from high-value farming. He said they could do this by using e-solutions uploaded from the department’s website.

Javed said the development would revolutionise farm efficiency and farmers’ income. He said the government was determined to make the technology accessible to every farmer. Javed said the University of Agriculture Faisalabad had taken a revolutionary step to harness the potential of information communication technology to disseminate information among farmers.

The minister said two-way communication was the defining feature of the models. He said farmers could visit www.fertilizeruaf.pk in this regard. Javed said the development of the models was attributable to the hard work and untiring efforts of the UAF and the department.

Muhammad Rashid of the UAF briefed those present on the models and the varsity’s plans regarding farmers’ income. He said the varsity had developed e-solutions for site-specific and reasonable crop production technology for all kinds of farmers. Rashid said the solutions were available at www.kissandost.pk. He said the e-solutions had been formulated for Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Jhang, Okara and Layyah districts. He said a five-day weather forecast was also available at the website.

Rashid said a link for AMIS was also available at the website. He said it had been uploaded to keep farmers cognisant of the latest market rates of all agricultural produce. He said a firm affiliated with the Ministry of Information had extended financial support for the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2015.