Rice & mangoes: steps taken to bring exports in line with international standards

Punjab Minister for Agriculture Dr Farrukh Javed said here on Thursday that the provincial government was taking steps on emergent basis to bring the exports of agricultural commodities especially of rice and mangoes in line with the international standards and remove all the hurdles in the way of their exports.
Dr Farrukh was presiding over a meeting at Agriculture House convened to discuss elimination of residue pesticides in rice and enhancing rice exports. The meeting was attended by Director General Agriculture (Extension) Dr Anjum Ali Buttar, Director General Agriculture (pest warning) Malik Muhammad Fayyaz, Dr Muhammad Ashfaq of the Federal Plant Protection Department, representatives of the rice exporters association and officers of the agriculture department.
Rice exporters told the meeting that a negative impact was being registered on Pakistani rice exports due to pesticide residue so that issue should be addressed at the earliest and growers should be guided in that direction. The Minister asked the rice exporters to immediately provide the government with list of growers from whom they bought rice for exports so as the provincial agriculture department could concentrate on such growers and arrange complete awareness and training of paddy growers with regard to disease and pest scouting. He also asked all the stakeholders including exporters to play their role for timely guidance and assistance to the rice growers.
He also announced to constitute a board comprising officers of the agriculture department and rice exporters which would play its role to prepare recommendations for eradication of pesticide residue and promoting usage of environmental friendly pesticides by paddy growers.