Dealers of fake pesticides and fertilisers would be dealt with iron hands, said Punjab Minister for Agriculture Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh while talking to the media here on Friday en-route to Layyah, adding that the Punjab government would protect the rights of farmers.
The minister urged scientists to evolve high-yield crop varieties and formulate effective recommendations on production technologies to ensure the welfare of farmers. Talking about payments to sugarcane growers, he said that mill owners have been directed to make the payments by August 15 or legal action would be taken.
Aulakh said that the government has decided to provide tractors to farmers at subsidised rates and allocated Rs 200 million as a subsidy, saying that a subsidy of Rs 200,000 would be given on each tractor. Furthermore, he announced that Rs 3.5 billion has been allocated as a subsidy to provide eight kinds of agricultural implements to farmers to enhance their crop yields.
Earlier, he informed the media that five expert groups were formed to finalise this programme. The minister added that a major attribute of this programme was that all stakeholders were invited to contribute to the demand-driven research programs in view of their needs and address the problems being faced by them.