Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has asked all field officers of the department to send data of crops damaged due to rain at the earliest.

At a meeting with officials of the department and chief agriculture officers at Punjab Bhawan, Dhaliwal said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had already announced that compensation for crop damage would be given around Baisakhi. He said chief agriculture officers should present the real picture before the government.

Taking a serious note of fake fertilisers and fake pesticides, the minister announced that soon a separate complaint number would be issued for the convenience of farmers where they could file complaints in this regard. He asked officials to resolve such complaints in a timely manner.

He asked the officials to sensitise farmers to the importance of buying quality seeds recommended by Punjab Agricultural University, which “have the capacity to withstand natural calamities”.

He said the government was making serious efforts to increase the area under cotton and farmers of the cotton belt would be given seeds at 33 per cent subsidy.

Dhaliwal said the agricultural policy was being prepared keeping in mind the welfare of farmers and for the purpose, suggestions had been sought from the public.

Source - https://www.tribuneindia.com