Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh on Friday demanded of the federal government to import fertiliser immediately in a bid to avert the crisis as the country is facing severe shortage of fertiliser during current Rabi season. Addressing Kissan convention held in connection with golden jubilee celebrations of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) as chief guest at Iqbal Auditorium, UAF.
He said like many other parts of the country the Punjab was also facing shortage of 0.4 million tonnes of fertiliser against the total requirements of 2.2 million tonnes. He said that the federal government had imported 38,000 tonnes of the fertilisers but it was far below against the requirement of fertiliser and now, the federal government should import it without any delay to meet the requirements of the farming community.
He said that out of total 38,000 tonnes imported fertiliser, the Punjab government had been provided the share of only 4,000 tonnes. He also recommended putting the price tag on the bags of fertiliser as he said shopkeepers were fleecing the customers by taking advantage of bag with no price tag.
He added that the prices of fertiliser had increased to 200 percent in a couple of months because of shortage of fertiliser, energy crisis, low production and many other reasons. He said the Punjab government was committed to ending the crisis as appropriate actions were being taken. The federal government was also being apprised of the administrative and legal matters in this regard.
He elaborated that the Punjab government distributed around 20,000 tractors among farmers on subsidised rates without discriminations. He said that the government had also seized fake medicines and agricultural materials worth 35 million during the campaign against the adulteration mafia under the directives of the chief minister of Punjab. He maintained that different agricultural implements and tools had been distributed among the tillers on subsidised rates by giving the subsidy of Rs 1 billion for promoting the mechanisation in agriculture sector.
He added that 0.17 million packets of seeds of different vegetables had been distributed among the masses keeping in view the trend domestic cultivation of vegetables under the Chief Minster's Kitchen Gardening Programme. He stressed the need for establishing water reservoir in the country. Kala Bagh Dam should be constructed immediately to deal with energy crisis, he added. Vice chancellor UAF Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan stressed the need for increasing per acre production of wheat.
He said that the county was getting 30 mounds per acre but with the usage of modern technique, the country had the potential to get 80 mounds per acre. He said that the objective of convention was to educate the farmers about the modern techniques. He said although the country was blessed with four seasons, best canal system and best ecological system but due to traditional ways of farming, they were lagging behind in the agriculture.
Dean of Faculty of Agriculture Professor Dr Muhammad Ashfaq, Director Wheat AARI Makhdoom Ali, Dr Akram Khan from Australia, Dr Khan Farooq from Research Institute for Conservation, Jhang, Dr Ahsan Ullah and other agricultural experts also spoke on the occasion. Later, the Minister for Agriculture inaugurated wheat sowing at the agronomy farm of the university by using the Australian agricultural machinery.