Boots on the Ground: 32,000 Students Take Wheat Advice to Punjab's Farmers

Key Points:

The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) has mobilised around 32,000 students for a 10-day wheat campaign across six divisions of Punjab from Oct 30 to Nov 8.
The wheat support price has been set at Rs4,500 per maund and more than Rs350 billion has been disbursed in agricultural microfinance loans through the Bank of Punjab with 99 per cent recovery.
Line sowing is practised on only around 11 per cent of Punjab’s wheat-growing area; farmers have been advised to complete sowing between Nov 1 and 20 with certified seed.
UAF has arranged nearly 400 general gatherings, 200 mega gatherings and 500 village contact sessions during the campaign.

FAISALABAD: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) and the Punjab Agriculture Extension Department have mobilized 32,000 students for a 10-day wheat campaign across six Punjab divisions, UAF announced Friday.

The wheat campaign arranged by the university with the department will run until Nov 8, according to the university. It said it had mobilised students from UAF, MUSAU Multan and Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi across the province under the drive.

The wheat campaign in numbers: 32,000 students, 10 days, six divisions, 400 general gatherings, 200 mega gatherings and 500 village sessions.

Addressing the inaugural session at Iqbal Auditorium, Punjab Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Usama Khan Leghari urged students to help farmers adopt modern technologies. He said young graduates could play a pivotal role in strengthening food security, mechanisation and agricultural entrepreneurship.

The government was facilitating farmers through the Kisan Card, mechanised equipment including super seeders and a support price of Rs4,500 per maund, he said. The per-acre credit limit under the Kisan Card had been increased to help farmers cope with rising input costs, he added.

More than Rs350 billion had been disbursed in agricultural microfinance loans through the Bank of Punjab with a recovery rate of 99 per cent, he said. The government had declared the current year the year of mechanisation and value addition, he added.

Support for farmers: a support price of Rs4,500 per maund and more than Rs350 billion in Bank of Punjab microfinance loans, with 99 per cent recovery.

He said the university had also launched a programme to promote innovation, artificial intelligence and technology in agriculture.

Punjab Secretary Agriculture Shakeel Ahmad Mian said timely sowing, certified seed and line sowing were the three major priorities of the campaign.

He said line sowing was practised on only around 11 per cent of Punjab’s wheat-growing area, largely in rain-fed Potohar. Traditional broadcasting remained common in the major agricultural plains, he added.

Sowing facts: line sowing on only 11 per cent of the wheat area, and a Nov 1 to 20 sowing window with certified seed.

Young graduates could play a pivotal role in strengthening food security, mechanisation and agricultural entrepreneurship.

He urged students and extension teams to educate farmers about modern sowing techniques, balanced fertiliser use and improved crop management. The Rs4,500 support price would encourage farmers to expand wheat cultivation amid growing global food security concerns, he said.

The government was also exploring value addition and export opportunities in case of surplus production, he added.

Director General Agriculture Extension Shahbaz Akhtar said the university had arranged nearly 400 general gatherings, 200 mega gatherings and 500 village contact sessions, besides media briefings and other interactive activities, to strengthen field extension services.

He said the university teams would also advise farmers to complete sowing between Nov 1 and 20 and use certified seed and modern agronomic practices.

Farmers Advised to Complete Wheat Sowing by Nov 20

UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali said more than 3,200 students from university departments and sub-campuses would suspend academic activities for a week to take part in the campaign. Inadequate wheat production could trigger serious food shortages, making farmer outreach essential, he said.

The vice chancellor said the campaign built on the university’s student internship programme in farmers’ fields, launched in 2010 and the joint annual campaign it had been arranging with the Punjab Agriculture Department since 2021.

He said its objective was not only to increase yields but also to expose students to field realities, engage them with farmers and encourage scientific solutions to agricultural problems.

Dean Agriculture Dr Ghalam Murtaza said the university would send its students to six divisions, including Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lahore, Sahiwal, Sargodha and Faisalabad.