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Tuesday March 19, 2024

PM’s Initiative for Backyard Poultry launched

By Bureau report
October 15, 2019

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Monday formally inaugurated the Prime Minister’s Initiative for Backyard Poultry Programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to an official handout, the initiative is part of the National Agricultural Emergency Programme under which 1000,000 poultry birds will be distributed in the next four years.One million poultry birds in the form units, each comprising of 5 female and one male will be distributed to the interested eligible families at subsidised rates.

Eligible families will be identified through a set procedure and will be informed through advertisement in the print media.The applicant will pay Rs1,050 for each unit of poultry. The project will be implemented over the next four years.

Each year, approximately 40,000 numbers of units will be distributed among deserving families.Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the chief minister stated that the government had a focus on the uplift of the downtrodden segments of the society and the initiative would lead to the economic uplift of farmers, especially women.

He said despite being an agricultural country with 43 per cent of the labour force employed in the agriculture sector, only Rs47 billion were spent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the Agriculture, Livestock and Poultry sectors during the past 70 years.

The chief minister said the government had planned to spend Rs85 billion for the reforms, uplift and development of the Agriculture, Livestock and Poultry sectors during its tenure.

“We are simultaneously working for the development of agriculture sector and industrialisation in the province through which the provincial government intends to generate revenue, provide employment and eradicate poverty,” Mahmood Khan.

Mahmood Khan criticised the opposition parties and accused them of promoting corruption when they were in power. “Under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, we are restructuring the economy which is not only limited to reforms at the national level but is also focused on providing relief and assistance to the underprivileged segment of the society,” he added.

The chief minister stated the provincial government had recently initiated wheeling of electricity to industrial consumers in KP which would not only help promote industrialisation but also contribute to revenue generation for the provincial exchequer.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Federal Minister for Food Security & Research Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan stated that 2 million poultry birds were scheduled to be distributed in Punjab, one million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one million in Sindh, 0.5 million in Balochistan and 0.5 million in Azad Jammu & Kashmir during the next four years which will help in poverty alleviation and will also contribute in eradicating stunted growth.

Senior leader Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf, Jehangir Khan Tareen, stated that despite financial constraints, the prime minister had made this initiative possible as true development cannot be achieved without the uplift of the downtrodden segments of the society.

He said that in the next phase, the programme would be extended to the merged districts, including Kurram, Bajaur and Khyber, adding that the prime minister was hope for Pakistan and the country was destined to prosper and develop under his dynamic leadership. The ceremony was also attended by Advisor to Prime Minister on Establishment ArbabShehzad, Provincial Minister for Agriculture & Livestock Mohibullah Khan, Special Assistant to CM on IT Kamran Bangash and officials.