- Advertisement -
QUETTA, Jan 01 (APP):The Balochistan Chief Minister, Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Wednesday inaugurated the 7th Agricultural Census, linked with GIS technology, through the GIS Dashboard.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by Provincial Ministers Mir Ali Hassan Zehri, Mir Muhammad Sadiq Umrani, Mir Asim Kurd Gello, Mir Saleem Khan Khoso, Sardar Kohyar Khan Domki, Bakht Mohammad Kakar, Mir Shoaib Nosherwani, Advisor Meena Majid Baloch, Parliamentary Secretary Haji Wali Muhammad Noorzai, Spokesman of Balochistan Government Shahid Rind, Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Babar Khan, Secretary Agriculture Balochistan Ali Akbar Baloch, Secretary Livestock Muhammad Tayyab Lehri, officers from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, and field supervisors.
While addressing the ceremony, Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that the agriculture and livestock sectors are the backbone of country’s and Balochistan’s economy.
He emphasized that accurate and multidimensional data is essential for policy-making in order to address the challenges faced by farmers, resource distribution, and improving crop production.
The chief minister directed the provincial secretaries of relevant departments to ensure the verification of agriculture census data at the local level to prevent unreliable information from becoming part of the statistical process.
He further said that the Balochistan government and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics will promote mutual cooperation for data-driven agricultural policies.
Reaffirming the government’s firm commitment to empowering farmers and ensuring sustainable agricultural development in Balochistan, the CM highlighted that this initiative will play a key role in ensuring food security, improving the welfare of farmers, and strengthening the agricultural sector in the province.
He added that this statistical initiative, through collaboration between the federal and provincial governments, will mark a milestone in the policy-making process for the agricultural sector.
The chief minister also mentioned that the Balochistan government will take solid steps for the welfare of farmers and agricultural development in collaboration with all relevant institutions, based on these statistics.
Dr. Naveed Iqbal, Joint Census Commissioner of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, addressed the gathering, highlighting the measures taken for agricultural statistics and shared that Balochistan has 7.12 million acres of agricultural land, where key crops like wheat, rice, and cotton make a significant contribution to the country’s production. He also noted that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has enhanced the effectiveness of this statistical campaign through GIS and modern digital tools.
Under the agricultural census, 1,004 trained enumerators across Balochistan will collect vital agricultural data, with the results expected to be compiled by August 2025.