Tube wells to be converted to solar energy

Minister for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema said on Tuesday that over 1.2 million agriculture tube wells would be switched to solar energy to reduce input costs and enhance farmers’ income.

Addressing a press conference, the minister said that a task force was being formed to finalise modalities and engage commercial banks to finance the project. He said that under the facility, the farmers would have to repay the loans in instalments in three years.

He said that the initiative has been taken on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has also asked for formulating short and long-term policies to ensure tangible results in the shortest possible time with a focus on reviving the agriculture sector to ensure food security as well as the prosperity of farmers.

While reaffirming the government's commitment to ensuring a proper rate of return to the farmers for their produces as well as enhancing the output of all major and minor crops, he said that recommendations for cotton intervention price had been finalised and will be taken up at the next meeting of the federal cabinet for approval.

The minister said that the initiative aimed at encouraging the farmers to bring maximum areas under cultivation as the cultivation of crops during the last season reduced by 37 per cent, which was replaced by rice, maize and sugarcane.

The minister said that the government was also keen to announce a minimum support price for wheat before the start of the sowing season to encourage farmers to sow more wheat for attaining self-sufficiency in staple grain production and reduce reliance on imported wheat and edible oil that were eating up foreign exchange reserves.

He said that the government was aware of rising inflation and the problems being faced by the common man and that steps were taken to protect them from the inflationary pressures.

He said that the government through the Utility Stores Corporation outlets was ensuring the provision of essential commodities at subsidised rates.

Cheema said that to avert any possible shortage of food grains owing to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the government has beefed up its strategic reserves and enhanced wheat procurement targets of all provincial governments and PASSCO. He said that it has been decided to import about three million tons of wheat to ensure smooth supply throughout the year.

Highlighting the relief measures introduced by the government for the agriculture sector, he said that sales tax on tractors has been withdrawn, whereas seed cotton and canola had been exempted from sales tax and no tax has been levied on fertilisers to facilitate the growers.

The minister said that despite the tough conditions agreed by the previous government with International Monetary Fund, the coalition government has taken tough decisions to save the country from default. Cheema said that the government was taking other measures to benefit from the Chines experience and expertise in agriculture and livestock sectors and an agreement for bulk buffalo breeding with China had been finalised.

He said that China was the biggest importer of beef and it has been asked to establish farms in Pakistan that would help develop the local livestock sector as well. The minister said that barter trade with Iran, which was suspended for the last two years, has also been restored and the first consignment of apples would arrive during the current month and mangoes from Pakistan would be exported to Iran. He said that full trade between the two countries would resume by September and about 100,000 tons of rice would be exported to Iran.

Besides, he said, other bottlenecks in transit trade had been removed to enhance trade with regional countries, particularly the trade in agriculture produces to promote local agriculture and livestock sectors.

The minister said that the government was taking steps to ensure the availability of quality seeds and pesticides and has finalised negotiations with Monsanto company while work on the agriculture cooperation under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project in livestock and research has also been also finalised. He said that a special task force was being formed to take the input of all the stakeholders to make the agriculture sector more viable and stronger.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2022.