Punjab Agricultural Secretary Rashid Mehmood has said that empowerment of small farmers with modern technology was imperative for increased productivity and poverty alleviation in rural areas.

Punjab Agricultural Secretary Rashid Mehmood has said that empowerment of small farmers with modern technology was imperative for increased productivity and poverty alleviation in rural areas. He was chairing a meeting of agricultural experts at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad . UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, Director General Research Punjab Dr Abid Mehmood and others also attended the meeting. Rashid Mehmood said that in Punjab, there are 0.5 million tractors are operating. The number of tractors must be doubled to increase production, he said, adding that the government was devising a mechanism to provide farm machinery at subsidized cost. He said that we will hold negotiations with China, Japan, South Korea and other countries to provide efficient and low cost machineries to our farming community. He said that in Pakistan, the horse power was standing at only .94 KWH per hectare whereas it is 7 KWH per hectare in Japan, 1.9 KWH per hectare in India, 4.1 in China and 1.56 in Vietnam. He said that harvesting of crops takes 25 days after maturity time due to lack of mechanical support to small farmers. In the 25 days, a portion of crops waste in the field that cannot be picked up. He said that more than 90 of the farming community consists of small farmers , who are unable to afford the latest machineries. He said that the government was making out efforts to provide the machineries to the small farmers. He urged the experts to give proper guidelines to the farmers community about increasing yield. He said that steps were afoot for the development of agriculture sector. He said that the Pakistan was blessed with the four seasons and best ecological zones. He urged the experts to devise out-of-the-box plan for increased productivity to benefit farmers and consumers as well. Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said that imbalanced usage of machines and inputs in the field is costing the farmers which can be overcome by giving them awareness and alternative modern farming tools. He said that we are blessed with the fertilized land. But lack of resources and awareness are the hurdle to tap its potential. He said that resources such as water etc are decreasing while on the other hand increasing population and converting of fertilized land into residential colonies are posing the threat of food insecurity. He assured of UAF full cooperation for the uplift of the sector. He said that the UAF was taking all measures for the agricultural development and address the issues of farmers and other stakeholders with the help of research, academia and outreach. Dr Abid said that tangible researches are being carried out to address the issues of the food security with high potential yield. He said that mechanization was the need of the hour to tap the potiential and to increase the productivity.