LAHORE, April 15: The Food Security through Crop Maximization Programme in Punjab, funded by the federal government to the tune of about half a billion rupees, would be in full swing with start of the next crop in 49 villages of the province.
Covering an area of about 50,000 acres, the programme aims at replicating the two villages that had been sponsored by FAO with the purpose of enhancing yield and raising income and living standards of farmers. Achievements of FAO villages served as incentive for the federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) to extend the recipe of the models to one hundred villages across the country—Punjab’s share comes to 49 villages.
FAO had backed food security through crop maximization in four villages, two in Punjab and one each in Sindh and NWFP for a period of three years ending in 2002. Remarkable results were obtained in these villages. Their performance showed that while the farming sector was working hard, its production was much below potential. It was realized that the fields were worth a lot more than they were yielding.
For instance, prior to the programme, the average wheat yield in village 44 SB in Sargodha was about 23 maunds to an acre. In the very first year of the FAO initiative, it had jumped to 43 maunds for the same land. By the time of the programme’s completion last year, some of the farmers were having up to 55 maunds per acre.
The FAO programme, supervised by MINFAL and implemented by Punjab Agriculture’s Extension and On-Farm Management wings, provided the base to MINFAL for undertaking an ambitious project for Crop Maximization. The new and enlarged edition of the programme holds the promise for ushering in a revolution in the farming sector by significantly enhancing yields of vital crops.
The FAO project was located in Sargodha and Sialkot. Punjab government has retained these districts for crop maximization and extended it to Sahiwal, Gujranwala, Muzzaffar Garh and Rahimyar Khan districts, ensuring that attention is given to all major crops like wheat, cotton, sugarcane, maize and rice.
Under the programme, villages would be required to set up organizations like Water Users Associations and contribute 50 per cent of expenses towards measures for food security through produce enhancement. Seed, fertilizer, pesticides, use of conservation technology implements and construction of watercourses would be on the provincial government’s agenda. Farmers would contribute the remaining 50 per cent. Their share would, however, be due after the harvesting of crops while the government would underwrite the other 50 per cent at the outset.
Clusters of villages have been identified for the implementation of Punjab’s programme that is built around Union Councils. About 32,000 acres would be laser levelled, 13,000 acres would be zero tilled while 6,000 acres would be prepared for cropping through the bed planting system. These techniques are water friendly and enhance, besides the output, farmer’s income by reducing expenditure on diesel, timely sowing and more efficient use of fertilizer.
The provincial government has also planned to take all the input facilities to the doorsteps of the farmers.
A major social aspect of the programme is the farmer’s share of costs going to a revolving fund that would remain at the disposal of village organizations for use for benevolent purposes but in an open and transparent manner, unlike other so-called funding for the poor by the government that is believed to be used for political ends or serves individuals and groups linked with influential personalities and power brokers. These revolving fund collections would be managed by the people themselves under the eyes of the community, as was done in FAO villages for the benefit of needy villagers.
