Addressing farmers at the farmhouse of Nawab Farhatullah Khan at Kot Barkat Ali in Khanewal, the provincial minister said the Punjab government attached priority to agriculture as it was the backbone of the national economy.

He said the amount would be spent on different projects including bricklining of waterways, installation of solar energy units for tube-wells, bio-gas projects, provision of agricultural tools at subsidize rates and agriculture related research.

He said that scientists were working to develop virus-free seed of cotton. He said the government offered Rs4bn subsidy for providing of 20,000 tractors.

Earlier, farmers complained about energy shortage. The provincial minister said the Punjab government was focusing on installation of tube-wells on bio-gas and solar-energy units to steer the agriculture sector out of the crisis.

Agriculture experts Dr Mohammad Yaseen, Dr Mahboobur Rehman, Dr Sagher Ahmed, Dr Bilal, farmer representatives Chaudhary Abdur Razzaq, Ghulam Sarwar, EDO Agriculture Abdul Ghaffor Ghaffari and other officials were also present.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011