By Muhammad Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Feb. 07 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan has witnessed rapid growth in its population over the past few decades, which has led to a massive increase in demand for food products, thus necessitating the adoption of modern technologies to boost farmers’ yields and make the country attain food security for its citizens. Digital technologies have the potential to accelerate the elimination of global poverty and hunger, particularly in rural areas of developing nations, where agriculture is the primary source of income. In this respective, Pakistan is also embracing digital technologies at a fast pace in different sectors, and the agriculture sector, which is the backbone of its economy, is no exception. The government of Punjab in collaboration with the federal government is taking tangible steps toward introducing digitization in the agriculture sector of the province, the country’s hub for agriculture production. The provincial government launched the agriculture emergency program in 2020 with the allocation of Rs300 billion to provide the growers with subsidies on the purchase of modern farm technologies. Under the e-credit scheme, which is part of the program, the government has allocated Rs45 billion for the provision of interest-free loans to farmers. The growers will get Rs600 million in subsidies for the purchase of lasers and levelers. An amount of Rs1.5 billion has been set aside for providing a 60% subsidy to the farmers on the purchase of irrigation systems such as sprinkler or drip technology. The government has allocated Rs429 million for helping farmers install solar systems on their farms. The government also gives a subsidy of Rs117 billion through Kisan Card to the farmers of Punjab, the country’s most populated province, and exports center as far as agriculture products are concerned. Punjab has a total cultivated area of 16.7 million hectares, with 5.87 million hectares being seeded multiple times throughout the year. Wheat was planted on 40% of the land, cotton on 11.5%, and rice on 12.8% in Punjab in 2018-19. According to the provincial government, almost 42% of farmers own less than one hectare despite the fact that they are the key players in agricultural produce. However, Kisan card is an easy, safe and secure method to transfer money to farmers as it will eliminate the role of middlemen in the disbursement of subsidies. Under the Kisan card scheme, the farmers will get a variety of incentives, including agriculture loans, crop insurance, subsidies on fertilizer, pesticides, and seeds. The government will also have data of all the farmers, through which it can launch other incentives for them in the future. Under the Kisan card, the subsidy on DAP (diammonium phosphate), which was earlier Rs500, has been increased to Rs1,000. Meanwhile, the central government has also launched Kisan Portal as part of the Pakistan Citizens Portal to enable farmers to air their grievances online and have their issues addressed swiftly. The portal will also be used to disseminate necessary information to farmers about better crop cultivation, management and harvest to have good yields.