PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has decided to convert Agriculture Research Institutes (ARI) Tarnab in Peshawar and Mingora in Swat into Centre of Excellence to bolster agriculture research and crops production.
KP Agriculture and Livestock Department officials told reporter on Thursday that Rs1, 000 million would be spent on upgradation and converting these institutes into Centre of Excellence.
He said an act has been cleared from Provincial Cabinet on January 5, 2022 and a bill was submitted to KP Assembly to convert these research institutions into centre of excellence.
These institutions would be run through a Board of Governors with a CEO and existing employees to be either adjusted elsewhere or send to surplus pool besides a market based pay structure and hiring through open competition would be given to professionals.
Under the Agriculture Transformation Plan, a seed industry was being established with an estimated cost of Rs1, 000 million and procurement was in progress.
To provide better services to farmers, he said tele-farming and digital services platform project worth Rs2320.483 million has been launched and about 100, 000 Kisan Cards were issued besides disbursement of Rs475 million.
Kisan Card is a major initiative of the government and two lakh farmers would be provided Kisan Cards in the first phase.
The database of farmers are being enhanced for provision of targeted subsidies to farmers on agriculture machinery while in the second phase interest free and low mark-up easy loans would be provided to farmers and agriculture growers.
Work on ICT based improved extension services model and enhancement in agricultural extension services in merged areas worth Rs3, 000 million and soil fertility mapping of KP worth Rs603.828 million has already been launched.
Likewise, Rs2, 670 million would be spent on genetic improvement of indigenous cattle through cross breeding and funds were released for successful completion of the scheme.
A new Agriculture University has been constructed in Malakand division while a state-of-the art veterinary and animal sciences university is being constructed in Swat.
The first ever Agriculture and Livestock Policies 2018 and Food Policy 2021 were passed while livestock census were held last year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said these projects were launched under the Prime Minister’s National Agriculture Program to bolster agriculture sector in the country.