Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar held a meeting at his office here on Friday in which different steps were reviewed to provide facilities to the farmers and to develop agriculture sector on modern lines. Meeting reviewed measures to save crops from locust attack and start of internship program for agri. graduates was decided as well. The chief minister informed that 130 agri. graduates will be trained with an amount of 20 crore rupees. This program will be continued on an annual basis, he added. A new floriculture program will also be started with an amount of Rs40 crores. Usman Buzdar said that agri. development will strengthen the economy and vowed to continue the protection of farmers’ rights. The government will give proper reward to sugarcane growers in the next season as was done for wheat and sugarcane growers, he added. He directed continued monitoring of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar and further directed to continue spraying till the complete elimination of swarms. He also directed to continue daily surveillance and complete planning should be made in collaboration with federal government to avoid future locust attacks. The chief minister said that institutional mechanism should be devised to deal with the climate change effects in sowing of crops adding that steps should be made for improving capacity of agri. research institutions. The meeting was told that six camps have been set up in Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur along with 16 surveillance teams for anti-locust operations. Provincial ministers Raja Basharat, Nauman Langrial, Chief Secretary, Chairman P&D, provincial secretaries, chairman taskforce for fertilizers and others attended the meeting.
