LAHORE/ MULTAN - Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani has said that the Punjab government is taking practical steps to increase the production of onions and tomatoes in Punjab and increase per acre yield to enhance the income of the farmers. He said this while presiding over a meeting here on Saturday.
To achieve this goal, the government had started a pilot project in this regard worth Rs3 billion. Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani, while addressing the meeting, said that a cluster of farmers consisting of 12 to 15 farmers would be formed for increasing onion and tomato cultivation and better production. The provincial minister said that capacity building of farmers would be done through Farmer Field training, while technical training of Farmer Enterprise Group would be arranged through quality improvement, climate smart agriculture practices, regenerative agriculture and post-harvest practices.
He said that the government desired to make it possible to access the international market of the commodity through value addition and improvement of value chain. The World Bank would provide financial support for onion and tomato seeds, nursery plants, machinery and agricultural equipment and cold storage. Earlier, World Bank consultant Kashif gave a detailed briefing on the important features of the project.
Meanwhile, Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahu said on Saturday that applications for the Chief Minister’s Green Tractor Scheme, offering a subsidy of Rs one million per tractor, would be invited soon. This initiative is aimed at promoting mechanized farming across the province. He made the announcement while presiding over a review meeting on cotton at MNS Agricultural University, Multan, where efforts to boost cotton production were also discussed.
The meeting was attended by Special Secretary for Agriculture South Punjab, Sarfraz Hussain Magsi, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Rajwana,Focal Person for Cotton, Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali, Director General Agriculture Extension, Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Director General Agricultural Information Punjab, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Director General Pest Warning, Dr. Amir Rasool;, Director General Crop Reporting Service, Abdul Qayyum, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Bandesha, and leading farmers including Khalid Mahmood Khokhar and Syed Hassan Raza.
Secretary Sahu directed the timely issuance of advisories for cotton care and stressed awareness campaigns on clean picking, storage, and transportation. He also called for proper documentation of cotton arrivals at ginning factories. Proposals for transforming Bahawalpur Division into a cotton valley were discussed.
The secretary stated that both the public and private sectors were tasked with developing high-quality cotton seeds. He further mentioned that the distribution of Kisan Cards was ongoing, with 850,000 farmers already registered under the program. The Kisan Card initiative received an overwhelmingly positive response from farmers.
He also highlighted the Chief Minister’s Smog Control Program, which is being implemented to manage crop residue disposal, and preparations for the next wheat planting season are underway.
From September 16, young agricultural graduates will begin field activities under the internship program. Later, Secretary Sahu visited the Kisan Card distribution center in Multan to review its arrangements.
