LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to launch a project for the off-season provision of onion and tomatoesto check hikein their prices.

For the purpose, four stations have been selected for onion and tomatoes each where groups of growers will be formed for the provision of subsidised farm inputs to encourage them to join the off-season vegetables project encompassing 2,000 acres. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif gave her nod for the project at a special meeting here on Sunday.

She was briefed by the agriculture authorities that Khushab, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Jhelum districts had been selected for the off-season cultivation of onions, while tomatoes would be grown in Kahror Pakka, Rahim Yar Khan, Vehari and Rajanpur districts.

The two crops will be grown at least on2,000 acres in the first phase.

She was told that groups of vegetable growers consisting of five to 10 farmers would be offered subsidy on seeds, fertilizers, drip irrigation and solarisation as incentives to join the project for transforming agriculture in Punjab and ensuring availability of onion and tomatoes during the offseason in the local markets and thus checking artificial hike in the rates of the two vegetables.

The chief minister also approved a plan to start agricultural machinery rental services across the province for the convenience of farmers.

She said this would help the small landholders with meagre resources to mechanise their farming through rented tractors, harvesters and other modern agricultural machinery on a noprofit, no-loss basis. Staf f Reporter