Gilgit-Baltistan launches subsidised wheat seed scheme for farmers

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan government has launched a scheme to provide certified wheat seed to farmers across the region at a 50 per cent subsidy, run through a newly set up online portal, at an expected cost of Rs140 million.

GB Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Secretary Usman Ahmed told Dawn that the government had taken another step towards making the region self-sufficient in agriculture and towards the welfare of local farmers. He said the seed was being supplied under the Chief Minister's Vision for Agriculture, which is meant to give growers quality, certified wheat seed.

The 50 per cent subsidy and the Rs140 million cost estimate appeared in Dawn's report and were repeated by the two other outlets that carried the story. Daily Independent headlined its item as certified wheat seed for farmers at a 50 per cent subsidy under a Rs140 million scheme, and Ua.News carried a short item on the same programme. Neither secondary report added figures or details of its own, and both restated the subsidy rate and the cost given by Dawn.

The reports available to Skardu Times did not say how farmers will register on the portal or what documents they will need. They did not give the quantity of seed to be distributed, the number of farmers expected to benefit, the area to be sown, or the period over which the scheme will run. They also did not make clear whether the Rs140 million will be met entirely from the GB government's own funds or with any federal support.

Secretary Usman Ahmed's remarks were reported by Dawn and have not been independently confirmed by Skardu Times. No announcement from the Chief Minister's Office or a notification from the agriculture department carrying the scheme's rules was available in the reports.

Wheat is the main staple grain in Gilgit-Baltistan, and the government has been under pressure to support farmers in the mountain valleys, where cultivable land is limited and holding sizes are small. The scheme is the latest in a series of measures the regional government has described as aimed at food security. How quickly the subsidy reaches growers will depend on the portal and on the department's seed supply, neither of which has been described publicly in the reports so far.