A Reuters file photo of an agricultural field.
KARACHI: The Sindh government has demanded a halt to the sale of cotton and other commodities’ seeds coming from Punjab in the province.
Sindh Agriculture Minister Muhammad Ismail Rahu chaired a meeting between representatives of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) and agricultural officials and called for slapping a ban on the sale of substandard seeds.
The minister pointed out that the federal government was required to examine and verify the seeds being imported but the provincial government would be forced to take action through a legal process if the Centre failed to restrict the use of adulterated agricultural seeds.
Rahu hinted that the seeds coming from Punjab to Sindh would first be checked at laboratories before being sold in the market.
“The federal government must initiate a crackdown on the dealers engaged in the trade as the provincial government cannot take action against agricultural companies registered with the Centre,” he stressed. “Had timely action been taken, there would have been no crisis of tomato, wheat, cotton and onion in the country.”
Questioning the seriousness of the federal government, Rahu asked how the government could run its affairs if it had not been able to formulate a mechanism for agriculture in one year and a half.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2020.
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