Punjab sets wheat cultivation target at 16.5 million acres — Dawn

Pakistan’s Punjab province has set a wheat cultivation target of 16.5 million acres for the upcoming season. Provincial Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani said the government had also set a support price for farmers at 4,500 rupees per maund, Dawn reports.

Support for farmers

According to Kirmani, 150 billion rupees have been allocated for the Kissan Card programme to purchase agricultural inputs. He also said that farmers had been provided interest-free loans worth 425 billion rupees over the past two and a half years.

The minister noted that 45,000 tractors had been provided to farmers at subsidised prices under the Green Tractor programme. In addition, a subsidy of 450 million rupees was allocated through the Punjab Seed Corporation for certified wheat seeds.

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Plan for the Lahore division

Punjab Agriculture Secretary Shakeel Ahmad Mian said that a cultivation plan of 1.35 million acres had been set for the Lahore division. This is 50,000 acres more than in the previous year.

Kirmani instructed field officers to ensure that 50-kilogram bags of approved wheat seed are sold at the fixed price of 7,000 rupees. He also ordered measures to prevent hoarding, overpricing, black marketing and theft of water from canals.