ESTABLISHING the Climate Change Authority will have a great impact on the agriculture sector, which sufferedthe most in 2022-23 because of erratic weather patterns leading to incessant rains.

If the National Digitisation Authority focuses on the agriculture sector, it will be a positive step forward because it will generate more revenue for the government as well as the farmers, preventing exploitation by the middlemen. Digitised data from agricultural markets will reveal how much farm goods changed hands and, thus, avert hoarding, tax evasion, and poor payments to the farmers.

The Kisan Card will also help in the digitisation of the sale and purchase of fertiliser, pesticides, and seeds and check the marketing of spurious and/or adulterated farm inputs. However, landless small farmers should be included into the scheme, which so far considers only owners of up to 12.5 acres of land as eligible.

The Rs9bn tube-well solarisation project will reduce the electricity tariff burden on the farmers; whereas the Rs8bn allocation made for setting up modern fish farms will promote aquaculture in the province. •