Green Revolution – By: Prof. Rahmat Karim Baig
For KPK government: how to strive for self sufficiency!
Our province in the north of the country stands at a very important location with huge resources at its disposal and any sane ruling party can utilize its numerous resources for making the province self –sufficient- an exporter instead of importer. These resources include:
- Rivers
- Wide barren lands for agriculture
- Good man power
- Mineral resources
- Vast tourism scope
- Hillsides for afforestation
- 4 seasons a year for various agricultural products.
Satisfactory supply of food items from agricultural lands is our foremost requirement and for achieving self sufficiency in wheat, rice, pulses, fruits, vegetables etc. we have to bring more waste lands under cultivation and get higher amount of wheat and can redouble it. The surplus may be exported instead of asking Punjab on every shortage.
In order to develop agricultural products on modern lines we have to chalk out a plan and prepare a Force of trained man power in Agriculture. At present the graduates from the educational Institutions pass out in large number and have no skill so their frustration is natural and they, due to unemployment, get drug addicted or join nonstate elements and work against the state instead of working for the society. This evil has to be brought under state control.
For example we have to frame laws for admission in BS classes or Universities and only those students who secure above 70 % marks in SSC should be admitted in BS programs but the rest should be drafted into an Agricultural Force district wise. This Force will engage the young SSC pass men for training in various skills of Agriculture and in the meanwhile both the Irrigation and Agriculture deptts. Shall identify barren lands such as those in the southern districts of KPK and in all other parts of the province. The funds for irrigation water supply schemes should be increased and schemes be prioritized and work to be started to supply water to waste lands and the fresh trained staff should be assigned for each of the project that gets ready for launching, under senior staff of the agriculture department. The programme should be carried out under strict control with monitoring and assessment procedure.
The staff of the Agriculture Force should initially be given stipend since their recruitment for training. This Force will increase with each project that is initiated. This will decrease the load of unemployment on the society and secondly it will produce agricultural products year by year. Agricultural products thus will reach market under a mechanism and would be available for export after meeting needs of the KP markets. The envisaged Force may go up to a million and turn the barren lands into productive lands. This idea should be considered, debated and finalized with more beneficial inputs from the departments concerned. This idea should be considered as an approach for Green Revolution.
