Enhance Range Lands Production and Planting of Fodder Trees for Farmer Community (Kissan Package)

There are 6.60 Million of rangelands under the scientific management of Punjab Forest Department. Range management circle Lahore is engaged in managing these rangelands in 12 districts of four range management Divisions including Chakwal, Bhakkar, D.G Khan and Bahawalpur entirely for the benefits of farming community residing in the vicinity of these rangelands. These rangelands generally fall in Pothohar, Thal and Cholistan areas. About 412,800 farmers /graziers residing on boundaries of these rangelands are directly benefited by grazing about 1273000 Nos. of their animals. These rangelands are managed on rotational grazing system and remained open for grazing of livestock throughout the year. Due to this reason, reseeding of 27,000 acres range area will not create any pressure upon other range lands use for grazing of the livestock. Previously, development projects executed by the Range Management Circle aimed at increasing the carrying capacity of depleted rangelands to provide sufficient fodder for increasing livestock population of farming communities. The instant project “Enhancing Rangeland Production and Planting of Fodder Trees for Farmer Community” is also meant to develop rangelands so that maximum farming communities may be benefited. In these areas the major economy of these people is pastoral, therefore reseeding program is proposed for the development of the deteriorating rangelands under the scheme. The reseeding operations will be carried out alongwith planting of fodder trees like Siris, Beri, Kikar and Jand etc. to increase the fodder productivity and improved environment of the rangelands.
This project has gestation period of 2016-2019. The total cost of the project is 745.522 million. The afforestation of fodder tree species  over an area of 1700 acres and reseeding of grasses over an area of 27000 acres will be carried out under this project besides soil conservation works and excavation of new tobas and desiltation of old tobas.