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Thursday February 06, 2025

Small farmers to be included in Kissan Card scheme

By Our Correspondent
February 04, 2025
Punjab Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani gestures during a meeting on May 23, 2024. — Facebook@Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani
Punjab Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani gestures during a meeting on May 23, 2024. — Facebook@Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani

LAHORE:Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani has said in the second phase of Chief Minister’s Kissan Card, small and medium-scale farmers with up to 25 acres of land will be included, and per-acre loan limit will be increased to benefit more farmers.

Speaking at a meeting held at Agriculture House here on Monday, the minister said CM’s farmer-friendly initiatives will ensure farmers’ prosperity, and emphasised the need to eliminate transaction charges on purchases made through the Kissan Card.

So far, 534,000 Kissan Cards have been approved, and Rs54 billion has been allocated for the initiative. Of this amount, Rs34.5 billion has already been utilised, with 87 percent spent on purchasing fertilisers. Under the Chief Minister Punjab Green Tractor Program, 9,500 successful farmers were selected through balloting, and 9,040 farmers have deposited their share of the amount for tractors. 8,823 green tractors have been manufactured, and 6,635 tractors have been delivered to farmers, while 391 lucky farmers must have to submit their payments by February 10. The first phase of the Green Tractor Programme will be completed in March, the minister said.

Under the Chief Minister Punjab Solarisation of Agricultural Tube Wells Programme, more than 533,000 applications have been received. After scrutiny, 385,130 applications have been approved, with 87 percent for diesel-powered and 13percent for electric-powered tube wells. Through digital balloting by Chief Minister, 8,000 farmers have been selected for solar tube wells, including 6,400 diesel and 1,600 electric tube wells. Allotment letters will be issued from February 6, the minister added.

He said that 70 percent of the gray structure for Model Agriculture Malls in Sahiwal and Multan has been completed, while in Sargodha and Bahawalpur, 60 percent of the construction is finished. The Department of Agriculture will only supervise these malls, he added.

Under the Chief Minister Punjab Grow More Wheat Programme, over 57,000 applications have been received, including 41,383 applications for laser land levelers and 10,266 for Green Tractors. Under the Chief Minister Punjab Smog Control Programme, the distribution of 1,000 Super Seeders has been completed. In the second phase, allocation letters for 2,000 farmers have been issued, and 1,817 Super Seeders have been booked, with 27 already delivered, the minister said and highlighted that Super Seeders have not only helped control smog but also reduced production costs. To provide agricultural machinery and equipment on rent, the Green Pakistan Initiative/ GAM will manage operations and service provisions for modern farming equipment.

He directed that a digital awareness campaign be launched to aware the farmers about the benefits of early cotton cultivation at the tehsil, district, and division levels. This campaign will be promoted under the "Ba-Khabar Kisan" to inform the farmers through using "Logo Calls".

Secretary Agriculture Punjab Iftekhar Ali Sahoo stated that implementation of the Chief Minister Punjab Kissan Package is progressing as per timelines. ‘For early cotton cultivation, field officers have been assigned special responsibilities. The high-yield early cotton cultivation drive has been in full swing since January 16, and sowing will take place between February 15 and March 31. He also assured the availability of triple-gene cotton seeds,’ he said.

The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Agriculture Nabeel Akhtar, Additional Secretary Agriculture (Planning) Captain (R) Waqas Rasheed, and Directors General Agriculture Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Rana Tajammul, Sajid, and Abdul Qayyum, along with other officials.