MULTAN:The Punjab government has asked farmers to avail the opportunity of modernizing their nurseries under a Rs 360 million national project for fruit production till Apr 16, to have access to Rs 300,000 funding from the government to equip their nurseries with the latest facilities and marketing assistance.
Agriculture spokesman said that the project was applicable in eighteen (18) districts where farmers can submit applications to the divisional director of agriculture extension, deputy director of agriculture extension, deputy director of horticulture, or director of agriculture extension till Apr 16.
The prerequisites for the applicants included that their nurseries must be engaged in fruit plant development for at least the last three years, and have all basic facilities like a screen house, green shed, water availability, budding material, nursery tools, and skilled labour. Nurseries should have the capability to produce and supply in time the fruit nursery plants and be in contact with the local Germ Plasm Unit (GPU) to get nursery stocks and buds.
Under this project, the registered nursery owners would get true-to-type and disease-free germ plasma units from the government. Moreover, all the government departments would be held bound to purchase saplings of fruit trees from the registered nurseries.
The three-year project was launched in 2020 and 2023 is its last year, officials said adding that government plans to modernize fifteen such nurseries till the conclusion.
Nine nursery sheds had been prepared and efforts were afoot to develop six more in 2023 under the initiative.
The relevant officials hoped that the initiative would someday change the overall fruit landscape in Punjab replacing disease-tainted trees with a new generation of true-to-type healthy trees to get enhanced fruit production.