Budget Speech 2018-19

WRITE UP FOR BUDGET SPEECH 2018-19 FOR AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK & COOPERATIVE DEPARTMENT, GOVT. OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA.

GOAL

            To ensure food security, alleviate poverty and generate employment opportunities through achieving higher growth rate in this vital sector of the economy.

The vision of Agriculture Department is to see a prosperous and food secured rural population with exportable surpluses to generate employment and income opportunities in the Province.

MANDATE

1. To ensure food security and improve the living standards of small farmers through increased production and employment generation.
2. To pursue agricultural development on sustainable basis, enhance crop production through variety improvement and facilitate value addition for exportable products.

3. To convert natural resources into viable business enterprises through scientific, technical, public private partnership and marketing support.

Sectoral Strategy under Agriculture Policy Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2015-2025:-

• Building local skills and traditions on indigenous knowledge & empowering various stakeholders to serve for the development of farmers.
• Building Human Resources including Officials & Farmers.
• Promotion and strengthening of climate Smart agriculture and adaptation under Climate Change Scenario.
• Development of commodities and commodity chain.
• Generation of modern technology and its dissemination to farming communities.
• Building capacity of Agriculture Livestock & Fish farmers to explore various market avenues for trade enhancement and fetching better market prices.
• Establishment of quality control, certification and traceability of Agriculture, Livestock & Fish commodities.
• Soil and water conservation and On Farm Water Management for efficient utilization and safeguard of Natural Resources.    

Agriculture Sector 2017-18.

Agriculture is the main stay of our economy. Nearly 80 % of people live in rural and Peri-Urban areas, where about 85% of population directly or indirectly earns their livelihoods from agriculture.

Realizing the importance of this sector, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has under-taken a number of special/ new initiatives in the past few years under the ADP programs for accelerating Agriculture Development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Support to Women Farmers in Kitchen Gardening & Value Addition of Fruits & Vegetables in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Improvement of Government Seed Production Units, Culturable Waste Land Development and Strengthening of Agricultural Research Institutes/ Stations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa etc to make the province self sufficient in Vegetables & Fruit Production, to meet seed requirement to enhance Crop Production and also to strengthen Agriculture Research System in the province. 

In order to improve water use efficiency, minimize water losses, control soil erosion, develop culturable waste land to bring more area under crops and enhance productivity schemes including Improvement & Lining of Water courses and construction of Water storage tanks, Agriculture Land Conservation and Water Harvesting for Food Security in KP and Culturable Waste Land Development in KP have also been approved.

Similarly to uplift socioeconomic status of the farming community and to provide hygienic and quality animal products to the general masses schemes titled Milk Quality Testing Labs at Divisional Headquarter in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Establishment of Pet Clinics at Divisional Headquarters in KP, Establishment of Civil Veterinary Dispensaries, Rehabilitation & Construction of Buildings for Existing Civil Veterinary Dispensaries, Improvement of Existing Livestock Breeding Farms have been approved. Moreover, Establishment of Livestock & Veterinary Research & Disease Investigation Center at District Torghar has been approved. Furthermore,  in order to carry out Research in the field of Fisheries and introduce new production techniques in fish farming a new scheme titled Introduction of Cage Fish Culture on Pilot basis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa  was also approved in the ADP 2017-18.

An amount of Rs. 3991.000 million was allocated in the ADP during the Fiscal Year 2017-18 for 39 schemes (17 ongoing and 22 new schemes).  Estimated expenditure of Current Financial Year 2017-18 remained Rs. 3466.345 Million 100% on releases and 87% on revised allocation, as compared to corresponding period of last Financial Year 2016-17 which remained 65 % on releases and 100 % against revised allocation.

The major achievements of department are as follows:-

1. 10,00,000 Olive plants propagated to bring 10,000 Acres land under cultivation.
2. 11486 Small agriculture implements were provided to the farmers through Model Farms Centers to uplift farmers capacity for mechanized agriculture.
3. 3730 farmers including 1250 Female Farmers trained.
4. 38 Carp and 56 Trout Fish Farm established to enhance fish production in the province.
5. 525 Soil Conservations structures constructed to safeguard fertile agriculture land.
6. 725 water courses and 570 Small Storage Tanks constructed to improve water efficiency.
7. 13,300 Acres culturable waste land reclaimed to boost production.
8. 88 solar pumping systems have been installed on Tube Wells to increase production and reduce cost of production.
9. 16,000 Sample Processed and 12,000 Postmortem carried out for Disease Diagnosis of Animals.
10. 120 New Civil Veterinary Dispensaries established in rented buildings to facilitate livestock farmers and improve livestock productivity.
11. 14 Milk Quality Testing Labs and 7 Pet Clinics established at each Divisional Headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
12. 21,82,000 animals treated.
13. 19,20,000 animals vaccinated.
14. 84,00,000 poultry birds vaccinated.
15. 3,24,000 Artificial Insemination were provided.

AGRICULTURE 2018-19

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has almost an agrarian economy. Agriculture and Livestock contributes around 24% of the provincial GDP. Agriculture engaged more than 50 % of the labour force of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Diversification into horticulture (with its potential to provide more income per acre at higher labor inputs) and rural based agriculture processing units offer promising avenues for increasing the income of rural households.

This Department proposed new initiatives in the upcoming ADP 2018-19 for accelerating Agriculture Development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Strengthening & Improvement of Existing fruit nursery farms to enhance agriculture production and Agriculture Technology Enhancement in Khyber Paktunkhwa have been proposed to upscale modern Agriculture interventions. 

In order to improve water use efficiency, minimize water losses, control soil erosion, develop culturable waste land to bring more area under crops and enhance productivity, new schemes including Productivity Enhancement through On Farm Water Management activities in KP, KP Irrigated Agriculture Improvement project (Agric. Component) under IDA, procurement of earth moving machinery  have also been proposed.

Similarly under Livestock Sector new schemes like Establishment of Sustainable conservation of traditional Transhumant livestock production system in KP, Community Dairy Development project in KP and exploration of beef potential of indigenous cattle breed in Charsadda have been proposed in the ADP 2018-19. Similarly, for improvement of Fisheries Sector and promotion of fish farming in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a scheme titled Strengthening & Establishment of Fish Hatcheries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been proposed in upcoming ADP 2018-19.

An amount of Rs. 3078.912 million (ADP 2018-19) has been proposed for total of 44 projects out of which 25 No. are ongoing with proposed allocation of Rs. 2003.912 million and 19 are new with proposed allocation of Rs. 1075.000 million. The following targets are proposed to be achieved during 2018-19:-

1. 8000 small implements will be distributed among small farmers to increase agriculture production.
2. 39,00,000 olive sapling will be distributed to bring 39,000 acres land under cultivation.
3. 4800 Acres culturble waste will be reclaimed in the Province. Moreover, Precise / Laser Land Leveling of an area of 163000 acres will be carried out.
4. 3500 Farmers including 1250 female farmers will be trained
5. 1618 water courses and 790 Water Storage Tanks will be constructed to improve water efficiency.
6. 1480 Soil Conservation structures will be constructed to safeguard precious agriculture land.
7. 120 solar systems will be installed on the Tube Wells to minimize cost of production.

1. 66 Carp and 21 Trout Fish Farms will be established in private sector to promote fish farming.

9. 60 existing Veterinary Dispensaries will be rehabilitated to provide animal health services.

1. 21,82,000 animals will be treated.
2. 19,20,000 animals will be vaccinated.
3. 87,00,000 poultry birds will be vaccinated.
4. 2,61,000 Artificial Insemination will be provided.