'Govt to distribute 400k vegetable seed packs'
A farmer holds hybrid red chili pepper seeds on his palm as he plants saplings, in Kunri, Umerkot, Pakistan, March 18, 2022. Devastating floods across Pakistan in August and September after several years of high temperatures, have left chilli farmers struggling in a country heavily dependent on agriculture, where officials have estimated $40 billion of flood damages. "When I was a child, the heat was never so intense. We used to have a plentiful crop, now it has become so hot, and the rains are so scarce that our yields have dwindled," farmer Leman Raj, 40, said. REUTERS
Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, announced that 400,000 free vegetable seed packets are being distributed to farmers in flood-hit areas to revive cultivation and promote food security. He chaired a meeting to review initiatives for enhancing vegetable production across Punjab. Sahoo emphasised that promoting vegetable farming is essential to meet nutritional needs and ensure a balanced diet.