ISLAMABAD: Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi has said that Pakistan is set to harvest record Basmati crop this year due to extraordinary efforts by the Agriculture Ministry and the farming community.
“Pakistani Basmati rice is popular all over the world for its unique aroma and quality. Pakistan is one of the leading rice exporting countries in the world. This year, the paddy crop has been planted on more than 5.3 million acres. With farmer friendly policies of the government and the hard work of farmers themselves, we will be able to achieve record yields which will increase the income of the farmers and strengthen the national economy,” said the minister while addressing a seminar on paddy crops in Kabirwala in collaboration with a private rice company.
He said that Basmati varieties are the hallmark of Punjab.
“The long green variety of rice has been developed and will soon be made available to farmers for normal cultivation. This year, better paddy production will bring prosperity to the farmers as rice exports are expected to increase to Rs3 billion,” he said.
The provincial minister further said that the agri sector is one of the top priorities of the government and therefore, under the Prime Minister’s Agricultural Emergency Programme, implementation of projects worth about Rs300 billion has been initiated from the current financial year (FY22).
He said that a huge amount of Rs4 billion was being spent in Punjab for increasing paddy production per acre under which approved varieties of seeds and modern agricultural machinery were being provided to paddy farmers on subsidy rate.
The minister said that the present government, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, will make the agricultural sector so active and developed that our agriculture will be able to achieve a prominent position in the local and international market in line with international requirements.
On the occasion, the Agriculture Minister appealed to the farmers to refrain from setting fire to the paddy fields after harvesting the paddy. Do this because this illegal practice increases environmental pollution, which in turn increases public health problems.
