AS expected, the total outlay of the Punjab agriculture and allocation pattern entails some fundamental changes. The total development outlay of Rs10.62bn represents over 100pc increase when compared with Rs5.2bn in 2013-14 — the year the PML-N started its third stint in power.

The details paint even better picture instead of revealing proverbial devil. Punjab plans to start 18 new schemes with Rs5.12bn, with the biggest chunk of money (Rs1.93bn) going to revamping of extension services. The second major allocation is earmarked water management at Rs1.77bn. Farm mechanisation will get an healthy amount of Rs698m, education Rs330m and research Rs384m. This total amount of Rs5.122bn would be in addition to Rs5.5bn that would be spent on 17 ongoing schemes during the next fiscal.

The comparison with last four years’ allocation highlights the difference that Punjab government is trying to make this year. In 2011-12, the total agri ADP stood at Rs3.4bn and actual spending was even less. In 2012-13, it went up to Rs5bn, but actual spending lagged behind. Next year, it was raised to Rs5.2bn and last year it was raised to Rs7.96bn. The actual increase, if compared with 2011-12, is more than 300pc. That is the kind of money the Agriculture Department was looking for a paradigm shift in development policy.

The budgetary documents reveal establishing 375 demonstration plots for vegetables promotion and 546 such plots for pulses. This has been a longstanding demand of the department, where it has been arguing that it needs to actually demonstrate good agriculture practices, new technologies and way of raising pulses and vegetables output so that even illiterate farmers could easily opt for those technologies and practices.

The budgetary documents reveal establishing 375 demonstration plots for vegetables and 546 for pulses to promote good agriculture practices and new technologies

The province will also undertake a gigantic task of wheat seed replacement. Each year, it plans to provide around 100,000 bags of 50Kg seed to farmers in each village and start the task of seed replacement, not only to save the crop from falling prey to rust every year but also enhance productivity through the distribution of high yielding seed.

Here the government needs to be cautioned that all official seed producing agencies have been producing the same seeds, which have fallen prey to different diseases. If the replacement effort is also led by the same institutions, the things may not turn out to be as rosy, as they are being projected. The provincial government needs to induct private sector here and cast its agencies in the monitoring role.

After all, the department would be purchasing around 5,000 tonnes of seed every year and it should make a healthy commercial proposition for the private sector to invest money. Even if the official agencies have to provide seed, they should compete for it. The same replacement effort is also required for pulses and vegetables. One hopes that the government, as amended Seed Act now requires, will encourage private sector under its robust monitoring for better seed provision of wheat, vegetables and pulses.

The other decisive change in farming could come from renewed contact of the extension workers with the farmers. Money has been provided in the budget to induct over 700 field assistants, their vehicles and information gadgetry. The project, spans four years and Rs4bn; it is getting first installment of Rs1.9bn in the current budget. How judicially the department spends this would be seen and closely watched by all. But the major need would be to keep these new resources (both human, financial and logistics) riveted to agriculture extension services if they have to deliver as expected of them.

A World Bank project is already underway which has 2,200 cell phones with GPR tracking to the department to monitor how much time and resource is spent between agricultural activities and doing firefighting given on other projects. One hopes that this new workforce and resource are used for agriculture development to ensure national food security.

The only allocation where Punjab seems to have fallen for political preferences is subsidy for tractors; it has kept Rs5bn for tractors subsidies and only Rs1bn for other implements. While welcoming Rs1bn allocation, one needs to emphasise that the need for other implements is much more than tractors for raising productivity.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, June 15th, 2015

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