Fertiliser prices down, stocks up
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that there is an abundance of fertilisers in Punjab in the Rabi season and their prices have also come down for the first time.
Chairing a meeting on agriculture, the chief minister said 30 per cent more stock of DAP fertiliser is available in Punjab, and 17% reduction in its price during the wheat season has been observed.
She said 125% more stock of urea fertiliser than required is available at a 25% lower price.
She said a wheat cultivation target of 16.5 million acres across Punjab had been set and 82% of the sowing target has been achieved.
She said the cultivation target would be completed across the province by December 10.
Wheat cultivation on 326,000 acres of government land across Punjab has also been planned.
The chief minister said 40,000 agriculture graduate interns are available to assist farmers in the field across the province.
"Applications have been invited for free grant of 1,000 green tractors and 1,000 land levelers for wheat farmers," she added.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz directed the authorities concerned to improve the wheat storage capacity across the province.
Meanwhile, Punjab Agriculture and Livestock Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani was informed in a meeting that wheat cultivation had been completed on 12 million acres of land across Punjab.
Officials said all resources were being mobilised to meet the cultivation target.
They said fertilisers were accessible to farmers at controlled rates.
Applications have been received from farmers sowing wheat on large areas under the Chief Minister's Grow More Wheat Package, with an online submission deadline of December 15.
The officials said strict monitoring was being done to ensure the availability of quality wheat seeds and fertilisers in markets.
The minister was informed that 1.32 million applications had been received for the Chief Minister's Kissan Card, with verification completed of 500,000 farmers. Through the card, agricultural inputs worth Rs24 billion have been purchased across the province, with 92% used for fertilisers.
The minister highlighted that the card allows farmers to withdraw up to 30% cash.
Farmers in non-digitised areas can also apply for the Kissan Card and the number of beneficiaries has been increased from 500,000 to 750,000.
The agriculture minister said abundant availability of inputs would significantly reduce the farmers' production cost.
He said the purchases through the kissan Card were being monitored for strict action against any dealer involved in overcharging.
The minister ordered stringent oversight against artificial shortage or price hike of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.
He said allotment letters had been issued to 9,354 out of 9,500 farmers selected for the green tractor scheme, while 3,363 of tehm had deposited their share of the price.
The minister was informed that 8,000 electric and diesel-operated tube wells across Punjab would be converted to solar power.