Punjab Playing Important Role In Ensuring Food Security

Secretary Agriculture Punjab Muhammad Mehmood has said that the province was playing an important role in ensuring food security in the country

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Nov, 2017 ) :Secretary Agriculture Punjab Muhammad Mehmood has said that the province was playing an important role in ensuring food security in the country.

The pro-farmers policies of the government resulted in 3.5 per cent increase in agriculture growth. Similarly, some crops witnessed 8 per cent increase in growth this year. The incumbent government is well aware of issues afflicting the agriculture sector, he said adding that prosperity of farmers is linked with improved agriculture.

The secretary expressed these views at a seminar on sunflower crop. He said that the Punjab government was employing all possible resources for promotion of agriculture. Pakistan used to spend Rs 285 billion on import of cooking oil.

"We are producing only 14 per cent of cooking oil in the country and we have to import 86 per cent oil from different countries," he disclosed.

There is much space for cultivation of canola. He said that the Agriculture Department has set target to cultivate canola at 200,000 acres of land in the province.

About 178,000 acre sunflower would be grown in three divisions including Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan. Muhammad Mehmood added that the government was providing Rs 5,000 subsidy per acre sunflower cultivation.

Farmers can get this subsidy on 10 acres, he added. On this occasion, Chairman District Council Rajan Sultan appreciated different steps introduced by Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for enhancing agriculture production.

Chairman Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Khalid Khokhar also addressed the seminar and urged the government to offer maximum relief to farmers. Experts also highlighted different positive aspects of canola in order to motivate farmers to grow this profit-making crop.