Sarsabz is all set to celebrate the third Kissan Day in Pakistan as part of their quest to amplify the farmer community’s voice. Pakistan’s economy relies heavily on agriculture and farmers are the backbone of that. However, try as we might, our resources are limited and practices are not updated with time. Here’s how Sarsabz is transforming the agriculture sector.
Kissan Day – what is it?
In 2019, Sarsabz chose December 18 as the ‘Kissan Day’ for the first time. They came up with the idea to have a day on which specially and solely farmers are celebrated. This day would also be allotted for dialogue between farmers, stakeholders of agriculture and policymakers.
Farmers can bring forth their problems and issues and others can listen. This meaningful dialogue would trigger real-life changes for a sustainable future. Thereafter, this day was also officially adopted by the government to support farmers.
Have a look at Sarsabz’s new Salam Kissan campaign paying tribute to Pakistan farmers
Sarsabz Fertilizer’s recently launched campaign, as part of its #SalamKissan initiative related to the third #KissanDay being celebrated on December 18, has recently received more than four million views in just two days of its launch on Sarsabz’s official Youtube channel. This is an impressive achievement that helps to highlight an important insight about the Pakistani nation that farmers live within their hearts and their appreciation and encouragement for their stand as their utmost priority and desire.
What problems are being currently faced by small-scale Pakistani farmers?
Currently, climate change and obsolete machinery and technology hold farmers and their work back. Agriculture constitutes 19.3% of the country’s GDP whereas, Sarsabz outlines that our potential can reach 44% too. Pakistan has lost 0.5 million cotton bales due to climate change. Sarsabz outlines that the reform for this lies in modern technology and techniques of farming.
Additionally, high-quality seeds are not available in Pakistan which is why the current seeds are giving an annually decreasing yield. This can be fixed by more research which would help us develop insect-resistant seeds. Another problem is also how many of our farmers are still doing subsistence farming because they do not have access to more facilities and funds.
How is Sarsabz supporting farmer welfare and helping to modernize the agriculture sector?
Sarsabz is working on a project to develop wheat-sowing machines that can reduce per acre seed requirement tremendously. These machines will save Rs.55 billion for Pakistan when it comes to seed grain!
They have also partnered with Rice Research Institute to help save 20% of the water that is needed for rice cultivation. This practice of dry sowing is being introduced to farmers in Punjab who find it difficult to meet their crop’s water requirements.
Sarsabz is also working on improving seed quality through SANIFA: a joint venture with Sapphire and Nishat Textiles. This venture is aiming to produce high-yield hybrid cotton seeds in Pakistan. Provided that Pakistan is one of the major exporters of cotton yarn, this seed could improve our capacity by many folds.
Precision farming is also an area where Sarsabz is promoting farmer welfare. The mission is to maximize agricultural output through the adoption of modern irrigation technologies. Similarly, capacity building is an area of focus too for Sarsabz. The capacity of local farmers is being built at a fundamental level. This would ensure they are able to export their enhanced yields to international markets.
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