Agriculture: 4,600 farmers will get tractors in four southern divisions this year

Officials asked to ensure targets for distribution of drip irrigation are met.

BAHAWALPUR:

As many as 4,600 farmers in Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Sahiwal divisions will get tractors under the Green Tractor Scheme this year, Director General (Agriculture Department) Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali said on Wednesday.

He was addressing an Agriculture Department meeting at the Circuit House in Bahawalpur. The meeting was attended by Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Mushtaq, the executive district officers (agriculture) and the district officers (agriculture and water management) from Bahawalpur, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal divisions.

The director general said farmers with land holdings between 2.5 acres and 25 acres qualified for the scheme. He said the government had so far received 258,000 applications.

The meeting was told that 20,000 tractors would be provided to farmers on subsidised rates under the scheme in two years. Of these, 10,000 tractors would be distributed this year. The estimated cost of the project is Rs4 billion. The subsidy will amount to as much as Rs200,000 a tractor.

Drip irrigation method

Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Mushtaq urged the officials to raise awareness about drip irrigation system. He said that the government planned on spending Rs3.6 billion in subsidies on drip irrigation equipment.

The Agriculture Secretary directed the officials concerned to ensure that targets set for conversion to drip irrigation methods were achieved in their districts.

He said he would review the progress in Bahawalpur, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal divisions by the end of the current year.

DG (Water Management) Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf said he hoped the farmers in water scarce region in southern districts would benefit the most from drip irrigation technology.

He said the government planned to facilitate drip irrigation installation on 600 acres in Bahawalpur, on 250 acres in Rajanpur, on 500 acres in Rahim Yar Khan, on 700 acres in Bahawalnagar, on 450 acres in Dera Ghazi Khan, on 600 acres in Muzaffargarh, on 850 acres in Layyah, on 350 acres in Multan, on 500 acres each in Khanewal, Vehari, Lodhran and Sahiwal, on 450 acres in Pakpattan and on 400 acres in Okara.

Multan EDO (Agriculture) Sardar Akbar Khan told the meeting that the district government had started work on adoption of drip irrigation methods. He said they had so far received applications from 700 farmers and added that subsidised equipment would be provided to farmers owing between an acre and 15 acres of land.

Laser levelling equipment

The agriculture secretary said 350 land laser levelers would be distributed among farmers under another project. He said the government would give a subsidy of Rs225,000 on each laser leveller. He said the first batch of levellers would be distributed among farmers this month.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2012.