LAHORE, July 9: Federal Food Minister Yar Muhammad Rind said on Friday that the government would consider increase in the support price of wheat next season.

Talking to newsmen after a seminar on "Role of media in agricultural development", he said the support price of paddy had already been increased.

Earlier, speaking at the seminar, the minister said benefits of research being carried out on various crops could not reach farmers due to various reasons like shortage of funds and lack of resources. This very important side of agriculture had not received due importance, he regretted.

Realizing potential of the farm sector, the government had substantially increased budget for the agriculture sector this year under the Public Sector Development Programme. The share of this sector in the PSDP had gone up to 3.5 per cent.

The increase in budget to the tune of Rs7.4 billion had been made after four decades, he claimed. He said the government was trying to increase the share of agriculture-related projects in the PSDP, and had decided to allocate a separate amount for media campaign with every new project.

Rind thanked President Pervez Musharraf for "kissan package". He said a national seminar would be held soon in the city to gather input of various stakeholders of this sector.

Highlighting the role of media in development of the agriculture sector, Punjab Agriculture Minister Arshad Khan Lodhi said awareness among farmers had a key importance as it could ensure increase in production of crops. Journalism was one of the pillars of the state, and no country could prosper without the active participation of media in society, he said.

He claimed that the government was giving priority to research. For this purpose, he said, the Punjab Agriculture Research Board was being reactivated. The whole structure of the board was also being revamped keeping in view the contemporary challenges of agriculture. He hoped the board would play a pivotal role under the new management.

Punjab Food Minister Chaudhry Iqbal also pointed out the significance of media in dissemination of the best agronomy practices among farmers. He said research work in the country was not up to the mark, especially it could not be effectively applied in the farmland. He stressed the need for utilizing media for this purpose on a large scale.

Provincial Agriculture Marketing Minister Rana Qasim said the marketing of agriculture produce played a pivotal role in prosperity of farmers. It would also helpful in sustainability of production. He said extension services could be better made with the cooperation of media.