PESHAWAR -The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has proposed about 60 new agriculture, fishery and livestock projects worth Rs15 billion for budget of financial year 2021-22 under the landmark Prime Minister Agriculture Emergency Programme (PMAEP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
These projects are exclusively designed to fulfill the food, meat and milk requirements of the ever growing population of the province and strengthening of agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors in the merged areas.
An official of KP Agriculture Department told APP that these projects would be executed both under ADP and PMAEP.
PMAEP worth over Rs309 billion has been extended to merged areas to bring its vast unutilised land under agriculture, livestock, poultry and fisheries cover.
KP government has developed an inclusive Food Security Policy under which a comprehensive strategy prepared to fulfill people’s food requirements in the wake of challenges posed by climate change.
The official said that 116 small and mega projects worth Rs10.96 billion were launched during ongoing financial year in KP with special focus on development, fisheries, research, infrastructure, poultry and livestock services.
Under PMAEP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is establishing about 287 trout fish farms mostly in Malakand and Hazara Divisions with an estimated cost of Rs1286.914 million to utilise its abundance of cold water reservoirs, lakes and favourable climate conditions mostly suited for trout fish farming.
These trout farms are being established under ‘development of water fisheries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,’ project. Federal government would contribute Rs514.766 million and KP government would inject Rs772.148 million in the mega trout’s project that would be completed by 2024.
Under PMAEP, three major livestock programs including Feedlot Fattening Project (FFP), Save The Calf (STC) and Poverty Alleviation through Poultry Development (PAPD) were extended to merged areas where work on it was underway with full pace.
KP government would spend a record Rs85 billion on development of these sectors during 2018-2023 against only Rs40 billion spent during 1947-2007.
The government would spend Rs44 billion on different mega projects including lands leveling, construction of watercourses, free distribution of wheat and maize seeds, converting tube wells on solar energy, strengthening of research and vaccination programme, calves fattening to increase meat production and construction of small dams for storage of rainy waters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including merged tribal districts by 2023.
Similarly, Rs 8.33billion would be spent on 133 small and mega agriculture, fisheries and livestock projects during current fiscal year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including merged tribal districts.
An inclusive plan has been devised by KP government to strengthen 8,264 agriculture farms in the province including in merged areas under PM’’s Agriculture Emergency Program.
Focus would be made on development of small farms up to 50 acres to facilitate a large number of farmers, ensure easy accessibilities and required less investment.
Water-channels leading to these agriculture farms would be improved and soils to be leveled under the range management techniques to bolster per acre production of all edible corps in Merged Areas.
As many as 41 new food verities were recently approved by Provincial Seeds Council for cultivation.
The new verities include Lemon, Garlic, Date, Tangerine, Beans, Peach, Pear, Strawberry, Rice, Wheat, Mustard, Maize, Sugarcane, Orange, Pulses imported from Punjab and others.
These verities were properly scrutinised and declared fit for cultivation after a long research work conducted by experts in different research centres in KP, he concluded.