PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has said that the provincial government has taken pragmatic measures to ensure food security of the province and reduce agricultural dependency on other provinces of the country.
In a statement, the Chief Minister stated that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the first province which had launched its own food security policy that includes short, medium and long-term initiatives aimed at increasing the agricultural produce of the province. The Chashma Right Bank Lift Canal (CRBC) project is also in the pipeline which, on completion, would bring hundreds of thousands of acres of barren land under cultivation in the southern districts.
Mahmood Khan said that the incumbent government launched Kisan Card, for the assistance of farmers, which was the first of its kind initiative providing relief to farmers in the form of subsidies on agricultural products.
Government Launches Agriculture and Livestock Program
According to details, the steps taken in agriculture and livestock sector in settled districts alone include the reclaiming of 4,185 acres of land for agricultural purposes, 39,095 meters of water course lining, training of 2,500 farmers on advanced technologies, establishment of 228 trout and carp fish farms, thereby increasing production by 0.3 million kg while 1.4 million fish seeds have also been provided to farmers.
Moreover, an agriculture and livestock program has been initiated while the establishment of first veterinary university, i.e. The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, is in progress.
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Similarly, development of the environment and forestry sector has also remained the priority of the provincial government since its inception. Owing to the sincere efforts of the government, forest cover in the province has increased substantially.
Plantation of One Billion Saplings Underway Across KP
Under the 10 billion tree tsunami project, plantation of one billion saplings is underway. Moreover, strict action has been taken against the timber mafia to preserve forest land while thousands of acres of forest land has been retrieved from grabbers.
Likewise, in order to ensure provision of clean drinking water to the public, 1463 water schemes have been completed in the last four years. 646 water supply schemes have been solarized while 831 schemes have been completed in the sanitation sector during the past four years in the settled districts alone. – APP
