LAHORE: In a major move to support the provincial farming community ahead of the harvest season, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday announced a relief package worth Rs 6 billion to provide free gunny bags (Bardana) to wheat growers across the province.
Under the initiative, registered farmers will be entitled to 10 gunny bags per acre, obtainable from designated procurement centers. The move is aimed at streamlining the wheat purchase process and shielding small-scale cultivators from additional logistical costs.
وزیراعلیٰ پنجاب مریم نوازکاگندم کےکاشتکاروں کو6ارب روپےکا باردانہ مفت دینے کااعلان،رجسٹرڈکاشتکاروں کوپرچیزسنٹرسےفی ایکڑ10بوری باردانہ دیاجائےگا
کسان کومتاثر نہیں ہونےدینگے،زرعی ترقی کوپائیداربنیادوں پر استوارکیا جارہا ہے،2سال میں حقیقی زرعی انقلاب لانے کا اعزاز حاصل ہے:مریم نواز pic.twitter.com/0UvNYzrHmq— Ali Tanoli (@alitanoli889) April 14, 2026
Speaking at the launch event in Lahore, the Chief Minister emphasized that her administration’s priority remains the protection of the grower’s interest. “Our farmers will not be left at the mercy of middlemen. We are building agricultural development on sustainable foundations,” she said.
Setting an ambitious timeline for her reforms, the CM added, “We have the honor of bringing a real agricultural revolution within two years. The prosperity of Punjab is inextricably linked to the prosperity of its soil.”
It may be added here that the gunny bag initiative is the latest in a series of sweeping measures introduced by the Maryam Nawaz administration to modernize the province’s primary sector.
Since taking office, the provincial government led by Maryam Nawaz has launched several flagship programs aimed at mechanization and financial independence for farmers:
– CM Kissan Card: A landmark Rs 300 billion annual project providing interest-free loans of up to Rs 150,000 per crop season to over 500,000 farmers for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
– Green Tractor Scheme: A massive mechanization drive providing a Rs 1 million to Rs 1.5 million subsidy per tractor. The program has already seen the distribution of over 31,000 tractors in record time.
– Solarization of Tube Wells: To combat rising electricity costs, the government is subsidizing the conversion of 8,000 electric and diesel tube wells to solar energy, with subsidies reaching up to Rs 1 million for larger systems.
– High-Tech Farm Mechanization: A Rs 30 billion program offering interest-free loans for modern machinery, including laser land levelers, harvesters, and drones, to minimize post-harvest losses.
– Model Agriculture Malls: The establishment of “one-stop shops” in major cities to provide farmers with direct access to certified inputs, technical machinery, and expert advisory services under one roof.
– Agri-Internship Programme: Deployment of 2,000 agriculture graduates to the field to provide real-time technical guidance to farmers, with interns receiving a monthly stipend of up to Rs 70,000.
Official sources state that these initiatives are part of a broader Rs 400 billion transformation plan intended to shift Punjab from traditional farming to a high-yield, technology-driven agricultural economy.
