Govt decided to encourage cultivation of oil-seed crops which would play an important role in meeting domestic needs while also lowering import bill for edible oil.
The government will provide registered farmers with a Rs. 5,000 subsidy for sunflower crop cultivation. According to a spokesman for the Agriculture (Extension) department, Pakistan imports edible oil worth Rs. 300 billion per year.
As a result, the government decided to encourage the cultivation of oil-seed crops, particularly sunflower, which would play an important role in meeting domestic needs while also lowering the import bill for edible oil.
He stated that the government would provide registered farmers with a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per acre for the cultivation of sunflower crops, as well as 50% off agriculture equipment.
He stated that farmers should use cutting-edge technology to cultivate and harvest their crops because new techniques can help save their valuable produce from pre- and post-harvest waste while also lowering their input costs.
He added that growers were being persuaded to cultivate experimental plots of sunflower crops and that the government would provide a subsidy of Rs. 15,000 per acre for the installation of cutting-edge technology.
He stated that sunflower cultivation would begin in January, and farmers in southern Punjab areas such as Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajan Pur, Bahawal Pur, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Vehari, Bahawal Nagar, Muzaffar Garh, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakkar, and Khanewal should complete sunflower crop cultivation by January 31.
Farmers in central Punjab, such as Faisalabad, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Jhang, Sahiwal, Okara, Pakpattan, Toba Tek Singh, Chiniot, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafiz Abad, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Nankana Sahib, could cultivate sunflower crops until February 10.
He stated that growers should use 2 kilogrammes (kg) of seeds of a hybrid variety with a 90% growth rate, with a plant density of 22,000 to 23,000 per acre.
He mentioned Hi-Sun-33, T-40318; Agora-4; S-278; Orisun-516, Orisun-675, Orisun-701, and Orisun-7; and other hybrid sunflower varieties, and advised growers to complete sunflower cultivation in a timely manner because late sowing could hamper production by reducing grain quality and quantity.