According to a document, the military's land directorate wrote to the Punjab chief secretary, Board of Revenue, and secretaries of agriculture, forest, livestock, and irrigation departments requesting the handover of 42,724 acres in Bhakkar tehsils Kaloor Kot and Mankera, 1,818 acres in Khushab tehsils Quaidabad and Khushab, and 725 acres in Sahiwal tehsil Chichawatni.
The letter alluded to a Punjab government notification dated February 20, 2023, and a March 8 joint venture agreement. "When signing the JV management agreement on March 8, it was decided that state lands immediately required for the project be given over to Pakistan Army," it said.
According to reliable sources, the JV was signed by the military, the Punjab government, and private corporations involved in corporate farming. About the key aspects of the proposed project, sources stated that the Punjab government will donate the land, while the army will use its resources and administer the project. The business sector, on the other side, would invest and provide auxiliary support, including fertilizer delivery, according to sources.
According to military authorities, the army is "not taking over ownership of the land since it will remain the property" of the Punjab government. "Army intervention will offer a cohesive administrative structure," the sources claimed. They stated that the land in question is primarily barren, uncultivated, and under-cultivated, and that the army, with the help of key stakeholders such as its JV partners and residents, will turn it into agricultural land.
According to sources, the Punjab Board of Revenue has been conducting surveys for months and has designated these sites for corporate agricultural purposes. The initiative will be administered by retired army officials, and the army will receive no financial advantage from it; rather, the profits from the farming would go to villagers, the Punjab government, and firms that will participate in the project.
At least 40% of the cash earned from cultivation will go to the Punjab government, 20% would be spent on contemporary agricultural research and development, and the remainder will be used for subsequent crops and project expansion. They said that due to "flawed reforms, weak agriculture policies coupled with climate change, and population explosion," the agricultural sector's growth rate fell from 4% in 1960 to 2.5pc in 2022.
According to sources citing the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), at least 27 percent of Pakistan's total agricultural land is underutilised. To deal with this issue, the Punjab administration has devised a strategy to rebuild the agriculture industry with the assistance of the Pakistan Army. According to Dawn, agricultural productivity will expand dramatically with the employment of modern farming technologies, machinery, and high-quality seeds.
According to sources, the initial phase of the project will involve the cultivation of various species of pulses, millets, and rice. This will be followed by large-scale canola and wheat cultivation.
