Enhancing farmers' income: Punjab government launching project worth Rs 4.65 billion

Punjab government is launching a three-year project worth rupees 4.65 billion to increase per acre yield and enhance income of the farmers while installation of drip irrigation on 100,000 acres has already been started.
This was disclosed by Punjab Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh, while presiding over the meetings of different steering committees, here on Friday, which are working to improve supply chain management and enhancing capacity of the irrigated agriculture sector.
Aulakh said that 275 laser land levellers are also being provided at Tehsil level to help improve the irrigated agriculture. He was of the view that exports of agriculture and livestock produces could be taken to US 4 billion dollars by improving the supply chain management and joining the star farm network.
The minister claimed that introduction of star farm would enhance the agriculture production and its marketing capacity in the province. He hoped that including farmers in star farm network through private-public partnership would result in 20 percent increase in per acre yield and control post-harvest losses up to 30 percent.
Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Arif Nadeem informed the participants of the meetings that transparency would be ensured at every level of this project so the private sector could fully participate in this programme. He said that the government would support all on equal footings in this project. He said star farm project of Pakistan would also fully participate in 'Green Week' of Germany.
Co-ordinator Star Farm project Dr Rafiq-ur-Rehman informed the meeting that 30 people were trained abroad to make this project a success and now these people would impart training to 50 suppliers. Director General Water Management Ch. Muhammad Ashraf informed the meeting about results of using 'rain gun' by the growers and claimed that farmers achieved up to 48 maunds per acre yield by using this method. He said that application of laser land levelling will bring down the water losses to 50 per cent and also reduce labour requirement by 35 per cent.
These meetings were also participated by the Punjab Secretary Agriculture Arif Nadeem, Secretary Livestock Hamid Yaqub Sheikh and other high officers of livestock and agriculture departments.