‘Rs10.6b set aside to upgrade South Punjab’s agriculture sector’

Minister says 29 agri projects will help modernise farming sector

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Provincial Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahanian Gardezi said on Monday that a sum of Rs10.66 billion was being invested to upgrade south Punjab agriculture to improve the financial standing of the farming community.

Minister said this after inaugurating a two-day agricultural exhibition organised by Punjab Agriculture Department at Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan.

The exhibition would be an important milestone for agricultural promotion and development in South Punjab, Gardezi said. He added agriculture sector in South Punjab was undergoing a major shift to modernity and diversity through 29 projects under execution for Rs10.66 billion.

Gardezi said the extraordinary interest being shown by all stakeholders in this exhibition would help importers and exporters in business deals. With a firm belief that economic goals can hardly be achieved without agricultural development, the government declared agriculture its top priority.

He said the Rs10.66 billion investment in agriculture included Rs2 billion for horizontal land development, Rs390 million for the corporate farming scheme, Rs199.7 million for provision of infrastructure for 10 agricultural markets, Rs185.8 million to promote high-value agriculture in Koh-e-Sulaiman and Dera Ghazi Khan and Rs216 million for the establishment of a Cotton Research Substation at Rajanpur.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Secretary Agriculture (Marketing) Punjab Waqar Hussain said that around 100 stalls have been set up in this exhibition providing a platform to the farmers for awareness on modern production technology. The exhibition will play a positive role in the promotion of agricultural exports in the long run. During the last three years, five international exhibitions held so far resulted in a total increase of US$13.5 million in agricultural exports, he disclosed.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2022.