Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Tanvir Ilyas Khan has said that the government has introduced an act under which agricultural land could not be used for any other purpose in AJK.
He was presiding over a meeting regarding agriculture in the state. He said that in the past no proper heed was given to the agriculture sector due to which agricultural production could not be increased in AJK.
He said that attention had to be given to agriculture, then AJK would have been self-sufficient in agricultural commodities. Due to negligence of the past governments, the fertile land of AJK went to waste.
“The goals of financial progress could not be attained without development of agriculture. The crops of wheat, corn along with cultivation of vegetables and flowers orchids should be increased in AJK. If we produce ample quantities of flowers in AJK, the growers can earn a fair amount of money from it”, Ilyas added.
He also directed the cultivation of olive and saffron in Azad Kashmir. Mirpur division has the ideal weather for the production of rice, where the crop should be cultivated in more and more areas. The PM instructed the agriculture department to develop livestock so as to accomplish the deficiency of meat and milk in AJK.
The Secretary Agriculture AJK Sardar Javed Ayub briefed the meeting during which he told the participants that currently there is 484,345 hectares of agricultural land in AJK. He said that the state government has a plan to enhance the agricultural land by five percent per year.
He apprised the meeting that the government of AJK is introducing modern technology in agriculture to increase per hectare yield.