Government’s vision to double the income of farmers: Imran Khan
Presently, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan said it was his government’s vision to double the income of farmers that would eventually lead to a rise in the country’s income. Addressing a farmers’ convention at the Baghdadul Jadid campus of Islamia University (IUB) where he launched the Kissan Card scheme, PM Imran Khan referred to a number of measures adopted through the present government to benefit the farmers. PM said Pakistan had over the past few years faced a tough condition, but now it was marching on the road to progress. Imran called the 8.4 million farmers of Pakistan an asset whose prosperity was the prime concern for the government. The government official identified that agricultural sector is indispensable to Pakistan’s economic growth, food security, employment generation and poverty alleviation mainly, at the rural level. It contributes 19.2 percent to the GDP and provides employment to around 38.5 percent of the labour force. Greater than 65-70 percent of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. Agricultural growth rate has been constrained by shrinking arable land, climate change, water shortages, and large-scale population and labour shift from rural to urban areas. Increasing agricultural productivity, therefore, requires adoption of new approaches. With strong forward and backward linkages with the secondary (industrial) and tertiary (services) sectors, it can play a pivotal role to spur economic growth. However, this sector has remained prone to several challenges like climate change, variance in temperature, water shortage, and changes in pattern of precipitation along with increase in input prices.
PM congratulated Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on the launch of Kissan Card and termed the scheme “a revolution” that would directly benefit the farmers’ community in Punjab. PM also said he would also ask the Balochistan government to launch this scheme in the province and wherever his party formed the government. PM Khan also proclaimed the launch of a national health insurance scheme, claiming that even the rich countries could not afford to undertake such an initiative. He said that health cards would be distributed among a million families by the end of the year so that they could get free treatment from any hospital of their choice. PM Imran Khan also inaugurated many projects at IUB, counting the National Cotton Breeding Institute, Inter-cropping Research Centre, a world-class nursing college and a cricket stadium. He also inaugurated a 2.5-megawatt solar project that has the capacity to not only meet the needs of the university, but also offer additional power to Multan Electric Power Company. The power centre will produce electricity at Rs 1.7 per unit and benefit the national exchequer with Rs455 million in 25 years. Imran Khan lauded the research work carried out in various fields of agriculture by IUB Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Athar Mehboob, Prof Iqbal Bandesha and other experts of the university. Prof Mehboob and Prof Bandesha were also awarded shields for their research work. Earlier, in his welcome address, CM Buzdar said that 27,694 lots (half an acre each) would be allotted to the farmers in Cholistan and the foundation stone of the south Punjab secretariat in Bahawalpur would be laid through Imran Khan soon. He said the government had empowered and given a new identity to south Punjab, while the rules of business for the secretariat were being formulated and Bahawalpur would be brought on a par with other developed cities. Furthermore, the record yield of seven crops had generated an additional inÂÂcome of Rs 600 billion for Punjab. The chief minister said that 187 uplift projects worth Rs 36 billion were under way, while another 136 schemes worth Rs 12 billion would be undertaken soon in BahawalÂpur. He said that 79 roads projects would be completed in the district, adding that work on 31 projects for provision and disposal of water was in progress. An industrial estate would also be organized at a cost of Rs 7 billion.