Timely action: Teams formed to fix farmers’ woes

Minister says potato exports encouraging

LAHORE: Minister for Agriculture Farrukh Javed said on Sunday committees had been constituted at divisional level to address grievances of farmers under the Kissan Package.

He said the committees would deliberate on applications submitted till February 29. He said decisions on the applications would be made by March 10.

In a statement, the agriculture minister said the government would ensure fair distribution of financial aid announced under the package.

“We have formed the committees following complaints mostly from one district. We want the process to be transparent,” he said. The minister said the government was working on a policy to modernise to the agriculture sector.

“We have called for suggestions from all stakeholders for finalising a strategy in this regard,” he said.

The minister said the Punjab was self-sufficient in terms of food production.

“We are looking for ways to increase yield per acre through the use of modern technology,” he said.

He said 100,000 metric tons of potatoes had been exported to Russia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka this season.

He said the department was working on a supply chain project to introduce local products in international markets. He said prices of local markets had stabilised due to timely export of potatoes.

“We are in contact with Afghanistan to waive import duty on the potato.”

He said the government was spending millions of rupees on providing modern tools to farmers for better yield.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd,  2016.