The Punjab Agriculture Department (PAD) will level 150,000 acres of land in Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi and other areas so as to construct small dams with the aim of improving water availability for the agriculture under the Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (PIPIP). This was stated by the Special Secretary (Marketing) Ehsan Bhutta while chairing a meeting here on Thursday to review the progress on this Rs 67 billion project being carried out by the provincial government in collaboration with the World Bank.

The project is aimed at improving supply of irrigation water by efficient conveyance and its effective farm level use, production of more profitable crops through High Efficiency Irrigation System (HEIS), strengthening the private sector service delivery and capacity building of stakeholders in better managing irrigation water.

The Department is helping the farmers to install drip/sprinkle irrigation system, leveling land by use of laser land levelers, restoration of barren lands, pavement of water courses, tunnel farming and solar panel installation for tube-wells. The department is extending subsidy to the growers for all these projects.

The Special Secretary Agriculture directed the regional managers attending the meeting to ensure achievement of all the goals under this project. He said that the growers are being given 60 percent subsidy on installation of drip irrigation system in their land besides leveling land in Potohari, desert or land which are not level, he concluded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019