Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that agriculture is the backbone of the national economy. He said that the government is implementing a comprehensive programme for uplift of the agriculture sector and prosperity of farmers and all out resources are being utilised for this purpose.
He said that provision of necessary facilities to the farmers is essential for promoting agriculture economy and the related departments should take practical measures for the prosperity of cultivators.
The chief minister said that the Punjab government would spend Rs. 100 billion during the next two years for the development of agriculture sector and that full attention would be paid to the development of research in the sector.
He expressed these views while presiding over a high-level meeting which reviewed steps proposed for the implementation of recommendations of Punjab Agriculture Conference-2016 for the betterment of the farmers and development of the agriculture sector.
Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that 100 billion rupees would be spent during the next two years for the development of agriculture sector and prosperity of farmers and the government would launch programmes that would directly benefit the farmers. He said that progress and prosperity of farmers is the top priority and the government is moving forward in this direction by adopting a farmer-friendly policy.
Shehbaz Sharif said that he would personally monitor the measures taken under the historic package of 100 billion rupees for the prosperity of farmers and development of agriculture sector. The chief minister said that maximum efforts would be made to protect the cultivators from the losses due to recession at international level. He said that economic loss to farmers would be compensated through financial, legal and administrative measures and due returns to the cultivators would be ensured.
He said that immediate measures need to be taken for the standardisation of the agriculture machinery. The chief minister directed the authorities to take steps for activation of Punjab Agriculture Research Board and pay special attention to the research to enhance agriculture production and area under cultivation.
He said that there is a need to transfer the results of agriculture research to farmers, adding that the promotion of technology, research development and agriculture extension is essential for progress of farmers.