Punjab Agricultural Minister Ahmad Ali Aulakh has called for stepping up efforts to persuade farming community about adopting modern practices to ensure food security. Presiding over a session of University of Agriculture Faisalabad 37th Senate meeting, he said that 33 million acre of agricultural land in Punjab out of 50 million acre is being cultivated. He said that a lack of communication between experts and farmers was hampering the process of increasing per acre.
He said that the Punjab government was taking all out efforts to increase the per acre production that was the need of the hour. Talking about agricultural reforms, he said that the government had distributed 30,000 tractors among the farming community with the subsidy of six billion rupees. He said that as a result of Punjab wheat competition, per acre wheat productivity has jacked up. The contest was meant to motivate the farming community to apply the latest practices at their field in the competitive atmosphere. The winner of the contest has produced 80 mounds of wheat from an acre that is a hallmark. He said that provincial government has made heavy investment to improve the supply change management and storage capacity to face up the challenges of modern world and reduce the post harvest losses.
Talking about educational reforms, he said that the Punjab government has provided scholarships worth 10 billion under the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund to support the talented and needy students. He said that launch of Danish School, distribution of laptops and solar lamps will help the students to get the access to modern researches and knowledge.
