Thread by @AamerBhandara

#Punjab #Budget 2021-22
(Want to understand)

#Agriculture
1. #Cotton again missing like federal’s budget, so a four crops budget.
2. Development budget is Rs. 31.5 billion in today’s speech, last year speech had a bit higher number Rs. 31.7 billion. (Screenshots attached)

3. Rs. 100 billion agriculture transformation plan
4. Rs. 4 billion for #subsidies, mean Rs. 73 per acre. Rs. 28 billion for #Farm #Mechanization Innovation, last available agriculture census is 17 years old, how to estimate about spending how much on what machinery

with latest expensive sowing to harvesting machines in all the four crops government is focusing?
5. Rs. 10 billion for the making center for excillence of four crops Rice, Sugar, Wheat and Maize,

is this privatization of the existing research institutions or another plan to upgrade the budget, fill the vacancies and build the capacity of existing staff?
6. Rs. 18.5 billion for inclusion of the private sector in agriculture extension services, how,

who will keep an eye on the services of the private staff advicing the farmers about proper chemicals instead of marketing the companies’ products and how to address the farmers’ grievances in case of adulterated products?

7. Rs. 5 billion for water course improvement, a very good initiative but what about on farm water governance issues, Pakistan is already a water scarce country and most of the fresh water is being used in agriculture sector, should not we invest more on smart solutions

in water conservation also reducing the long term cost of production?
8. Rs. 7.6 billion for subsidized loans but for how many farmers, mostly are the small land holders.

9. Rs. 5 billion (last year Rs. 13.3 billion) #Livestock & #Dairy Development including already running projects, 10 million for upgradation of Divisonal Veterinary Hospitals and& Laboratories, Rs. 320 million for subsidy of Silage machines to fulfill animal fodder requirements,

how much for the vaccination, disease control, medication and most importantly how to help the landless small dairy farmers who doesn’t owned land, machinery is good but for the landholders, animal fodde and nutrition is the major problem of landless livestock and dairy farmers.