LAHORE -Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Nauman Ahmed Langrial has said that various steps were being taken to promote high value agriculture in the province. According to a press release issued here on Saturday he said this while talking to media in Sargodha.
He said, “Prosperous farmer is the main focus of the policies of the incumbent government.” He said that all resources were being utilized to boost kinnow production. Citrus fruit gardens were established on more than 400,000 acres of land in the province, he added.
He said that these gardens produce citrus fruit yield up to about 2.1 million tonnes annually. Malik Nauman Ahmed Langrial said, “Still there is room to increase citrus fruit production for which government is providing resources for ongoing research in this regard.” Agriculture minister said that this year more than 2276000 metric tonnes kinnow production was expected.
Farmer friendly initiatives by the government were helping to increase research and investment in agriculture sector, he added. He said, “Demand of our agricultural commodities is increasing in national and international market.”
He further said that for the development of agriculture sector, incumbent government had allocated more than Rs 10 billion in financial year 2020-21.
Minister said that implementation on various projects worth Rs 300 billion was also ongoing for the growth of the sector and prosperity of farmers. Government had also given approval of agricultural package of Rs 56.6 billion which would help farmers in reducing cost of production of crops, he added.
He said that agriculture scientists through their research should continue focusing on improving the standard of citrus which he added would definitely help in fetching forex.