MANSEHRA: The agriculture department on Saturday launched a special initiative to boost agricultural production and bring barren land under cultivation in Torghar district. “This project will ensure livelihood enhancement and protection and cultivation of the maximum possible barren land,” district director of the agriculture department Ghazala Yasmin told the first-ever gathering of peasants and local government representatives in the district headquarters Judbah. Additional deputy commissioner Mian Sajid Hussain also attended the event. “We will provide growers with high-quality wheat and other seeds at subsidised rates, which will increase agricultural yield manifolds,” she said. Official says agricultural reforms to help address poverty The official said the government was striving to address poverty through agricultural reforms, as the livelihood of over 90 per cent of the local population depended on the sector. “The government turned Torghar tribal area into a settled district in 2011 through a presidential order but you still need to work hard to bring socio-economic changes to your lives,” she said. Ms Yasmin said awareness walks and sessions involving growers and village and neighbourhood council chairmen and members would also be held across the district. Additional deputy commissioner Mian Sajid Hussain said the government was committed to improving the lives of residents. “We have started the execution of school and health facility projects in different parts of the district, which will enhance services in both sectors,” he said. Mr Hussain said that the provincial government had released funds to develop roads and bridges under its ‘Farm-to-Road’ initiative. The peasants highlighted issues faced by them to get maximum benefits and yields from farming. MEMBERSHIP DRIVE: The Women’s Wing of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Saturday launched a membership drive in the Hazara division. “For the first time, our party has initiated a women-only membership drive in Kohistan, Torghar, and the rest of the Hazara Division,” PTI divisional general secretary Shakila Rabbani told reporters here. She said a meeting, chaired by Hazara division president Uzma Riaz Jadoon earlier this week, had decided to launch the membership drive. “This drive, which was initially launched in Abbottabad, has now been extended to Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar, Upper and Lower Kohistan, and Kolai-Palas districts,” she said. Ms Rabbani said the membership drive aimed to register as many as 50,000 women. “Women have always played a pivotal role in the PTI’s movement for the release of our incarcerated leader, Imran Khan. If we achieve half of our target, it will still be a significant accomplishment,” she said. The PTI leader said hers was the only party that fielded women candidates from highly conservative areas such as Kolai-Palas, Upper and Lower Kohistan, and Torghar in the last general elections.