Punjab can turn 3.8m more acres of land fertile

Agriculture official stresses importance of bulldozers for preparing farms

MULTAN:

About 3.8 million acres of land in Punjab is barren, which can be converted into fertile land in order to benefit the country's agriculture sector.

According to official sources, the total cultivated area in the province is about 50.7 million acres. Although steps are being taken to convert barren and non-agricultural land into fertile soil, the pace of the work is considered slow as only 25,000 to 30,000 acres are converted to fertile land annually.

According to Director General (Agriculture Field) Ghulam Siddique, the Agriculture Engineering Department (Field Wing) has prepared over 1.65 million acres of land for cultivation so far.

He said the process for conversion of barren land to fertile area was heading forward smoothly. The only way for preparation of barren land was use of bulldozers, he stated. The heavy machine helps prepare pieces of land for agriculture more easily than manual labour, improving the efficiency and reducing cost of the process.

The official said the Agriculture Engineering Department has 297 bulldozers for the purpose. The department provided its services to farmers for levelling or preparation of the land. The use of bulldozer is equally beneficial for preparation of soil in both mountains and plain areas.

Increasing the area under cultivation is vital for improving agricultural production, stated the DG.

Ghulam Siddique added that the bulldozers were also used for making embankments, especially during floods.

Using a bulldozer ensures the soil is well-levelled and in this way the required plants can grow well on flat land.

The DG said the bulldozers were also used in preparation of fish farms.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2021.