Sep 03, 2021: The government had spent an amount of Rs 4,979.494 million under Prime Minister National Agriculture Emergency Program during the fiscal year 2020-21 to uplift the local agriculture sector, increase per-acre crop output, and enhance farm income.
The amount was allocated in Federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2020-21 as of federal component as the government was intended to spend over Rs 81.774 billion under the aforesaid program, which aimed at turning around the local agriculture sector by achieving maximum per-acre crop output of all major crops, water conservations and livestock and fisheries development, said an official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
While talking to APP, he said that during the last fiscal year, the government had spent Rs 29.560 million for the cage culture cluster development project and Rs 129.090 million for calf feedlot fattening in order to enhance meat and fish production to meet local requirements as well as for exporting.
Meanwhile, he said that an amount of Rs 193.970 million was also provided for the national oilseed enhancement program for promoting the cultivation of oil-seeds, adding that the initiative in the medium and long term would help to reduce the reliance on imported edible oil, which was annually consuming billions of dollars and putting the pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
The government had also released Rs 314.550 million for the national program for enhancing the command area in barani areas across the country in order to bring maximum land under high-value crops as well as Rs 247.020 million for the national program for improvement of water courses, he added.
Due to different financial and policy interventions, he said that productivity of all major crops witnessed significant growth as the government in its last year's development program had provided Rs 313.950 million for productivity enhancement of rice, Rs141.240 million for sugarcane, and Rs 551.550 million for wheat crop respectively.
In order to conserve the rapidly depleting water resources, the government provided Rs 385.720 million for water conservation in barani areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he added.
APP
43146
