Islamabad, Sep 14: Applications for the Chief Minister’s Green Tractor Scheme, which offers a subsidy of Rs one million per tractor, would be invited soon, Secretary of Agriculture Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahu announced on Saturday.
The province-wide promotion of mechanized farming is the goal of this project. During a review meeting on cotton at MNS Agricultural University in Multan, where efforts to increase cotton production were also discussed, he made the news.
Sarfraz Hussain Magsi, Special Secretary for Agriculture South Punjab; Prof. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmad Rajwana, Vice-Chancellor; Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali, Cotton Focal Person; Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Director General Agriculture Extension; Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Director General Agricultural Information Punjab; Dr. Amir Rasool, Director General Pest Warning; and Abdul Qayyum, Director General Crop Reporting Service, were present at the meeting.
Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Bandesha, as well as prominent farmers like Syed Hassan Raza and Khalid Mahmood Khokhar. Secretary Sahu prioritized awareness campaigns on clean picking, storage, and transportation while overseeing the prompt release of advisory for cotton care. Additionally, he demanded that cotton arrivals at ginning mills be well documented. There was discussion about plans to turn Bahawalpur Division into a cotton valley.
The Secretary said that creating high-quality cotton seeds was a responsibility shared by the public and private sectors. He added that there were still 850,000 farmers registered in the program and that Kisan Cards were being distributed. Farmers responded to the Kisan Card idea with great approval.
In addition, he discussed the implementation of the Chief Minister’s Smog Control Program, which controls the disposal of agricultural residue, and the ongoing planning for the upcoming wheat growing season.
Young graduates in agriculture will start their fieldwork as part of the internship program on September 16. Subsequently, Secretary Sahu went to Multan to inspect the Kisan Card distribution center’s setup.
