Govt launches poultry, water projects in Gilgit-Baltistan

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday launched two projects on “backyard poultry” and “Conserving Water through Lining of Watercourses” under the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Emergency Programme.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan launched the projects. The PM’s Agriculture Emergency Programme was initiated to change the traditional outlook of agriculture and to bring it in line with the modern demands by investment of Rs286 billion; expertise and technology. Almost all the agro fields were taken into account for the subject development.

There are 13 projects in which all the provincial governments and departments are stakeholders and the subject projects were designed and would subsequently be executed in collaboration. Two of the projects were already launched earlier this month.

The minister said all these projects are basically linked with food self-sufficiency and to cope with hunger. The backyard poultry will equip the households with moderate means with enough resources to fulfill their protein deficiencies and also attain financial self-sufficiency.

On backyard poultry programme, Rs0.33 billion with the federal share of Rs0.07 billion will be spent. Under this programme, the government will disburse 0.15 million vaccinated chickens. These small projects have great impact on the economy, as these are time tested in various countries across the globe.

Mehboob Sultan said that this project will empower our womenfolk by giving them limited capital and space with bright chances to bring more profit. The leftover food could become a good chicken feed and with organic food the nutritional value of eggs and meat would be highly beneficial for health with less cholesterol.

On the conservation of water, the federal minister said the government will launch three projects with the financing of Rs200 billion having the federal share of Rs62.07 billion. The importance of water cannot be denied for agriculture and lot of water is wasted for there has never been a sound water conservation strategy, especially in face of increasing population, he added.

In the face of such challenges, the government has devised a strategy, which will help stop water waste. In this regard, the government has earmarked Rs154 billion for lining of watercourses. In Gilgit-Baltistan, Rs4 billion will be spent on the lining of 3,325 watercourses, Sultan added.

The federal secretary said the projects are conceived with thorough deliberations from the federal and provincial departments concerned. The progress of work on these projects will be monitored by the federal ministry in collaboration with the provincial departments under the supervision of the prime minister and federal minister for NFS&R.

The minister also assured his unwavering support for the success of these projects and thoroughly appreciated the interest of local population and departments.