LAHORE: Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashig Hussain Kirmani on Monday claimed the province has achieved nearly 99 per cent of the wheat sowing target set for the current season.

The provincial government had set a target of cultivating wheat on 16.5 million acres, he said, adding that wheat had already been sown on 16.25m acres according to the data provided by the agriculture department.

In a statement regarding wheat cultivation, the minister attributed this success to the farmer-friendly initiatives of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz as under her leadership, several schemes such as Kissan Card and the Green Tractor Programmes were launched for the benefit of agriculturists.

He said Kissan Cards were provided to farmers owning up to 12.5 acres of land. He added that 1,000 laser-levellers of land would be distributed through a transparent balloting among the growers who had sown wheat on land between 12.5 and 25 acres.

Similarly, 1,000 tractors would be given free of cost through transparent balloting to the farmers with over 25 acres of wheat cultivation land.

During the cultivation, adequate availability of DAP and urea was being ensured and the inputs were being offered at lower prices.

The price of Punjab Seed Corporation`s wheat seed bags has been reduced from Rs6,300 to Rs4,500 per bag, he concluded.