Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Muhammad Ashiq Hussain Kirmani said on Monday that provision of fertilizers to farmers at fixed rates must be ensured. He said this during his visit to Agriculture House here. He said that zero tolerance policy should be implemented against those who were involved in overcharging of fertilizers and smuggling of sub-standard fertilizers.
Punjab Agriculture (Extension) Director General Dr Ishtiaq Hassan briefed the minister that till now overcharging of 294 fertilizers and 109 samples of non-standard agricultural drugs had been reported while 208 involved dealers had been handed over to police besides seizing 10,714 bags of substandard fertilizers. Syed Muhammad Ashiq said that the arrest process should be ensured so that persons involved in such illegal activities meet their logical end. He further said that a new law was being introduced for the registration and issuance of licenses to dealers which would help in reducing problems of farmers. The Minister sought a plan from the Director General of Agriculture (Extension) for”Cotton Revival” in every district and directed to bring maximum area under cotton cultivation and provide technical guidance to the farmers in this regard.
Later, the Provincial Agriculture Minister visited the Marketing department and issued instructions for further improvement while inspecting the monitoring of 51 Fair Price Shops established in connection with the Holy month of Ramadan. The Minister for Agriculture also issued orders to communicate the prices of essential commodities to people on a daily basis through social media and other mediums.
