LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that the interests of farmers would be safeguarded like the previous years and payments to them for their produce at the fixed rate will be ensured.
Addressing a meeting to review various proposals with regard to the wheat procurement campaign for the year 2015-16, he said that with the grace of Almighty Allah there had been a bumper wheat crop this year.
He said that all necessary measures would be taken for stabilizing wheat prices and it would also be ensured that farmers were not affected by the low price of wheat and slump in the international market.
The CM said that the campaign would be launched at the end of April in Punjab and gunny bags would be distributed among the cultivators in accordance with the settled policy.
He said that the system of distribution of gunny bags would be just and highly transparent and gunny bags would be issued on the basis of `first come first served'.
He further said that middleman would not be allowed to get involved in the wheat procurement campaign and exploit cultivators.
All necessary facilities would be provided to cultivators at the procurement centers and complaint cells would be established at provincial, divisional, district and Tehsil levels for quick redressal of complaints made by farmers, he added.
The Chief Minister directed Provincial Minister for Food Bilal Yasin and Secretary Food to publicize their phone numbers so that farmers could contact them directly in case of any problem.
He said that information technology should be fully utilized in the procurement of wheat from cultivators while citizen feedback system should be introduced for resolving problems of the farmers.
He said that a modern system should be evolved for the effective monitoring of wheat procurement campaign.
Shahbaz Sharif further directed that wheat should be procured from small cultivators on priority and he would personally monitor the wheat procurement campaign while provincial ministers and secretaries would remain in the field for supervising procurement process.
Assembly members gave various proposals with regard to the campaign while Punjab Food Secretary gave a briefing on the arrangements made in this regard.
Provincial Ministers Bilal Yasin, Muhammad Shafiq, Iqbal Channer, Federal Parliamentary Secretary Food Security Rajab Ali Khan Baloch, Special Assistant Arshad Jutt, Member Provincial Assembly Rana Sanaullah, Members Provincial and National Assemblies, Chief Secretary and concerned secretaries attended the meeting.
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