The Punjab food department has constituted committees throughout the province at district level which will be led by officials from the Punjab agriculture department to ensure smooth wheat seed movement in the province and resolve the issues being reported by the seed companies or growers in this regard.

According to a notification issued by the provincial food department, these committees will verify the convoy note submitted by the seed companies duly verified by the federal seed certification agency instead of district food controller.

A Deputy Director, Agriculture, will be the convener of the committee while district food controller of the concerned district, Tehsildar/Naib Tehsildar and any three members nominated by the deputy commissioner concerned will be the members of the said committee.

The notification said that wheat seed constitutes an important component of wheat harvesting as it ensures the provision of certified seed for the next sowing. During the current wheat procurement campaign 2020-21, certain issues are being reported by the deputy commissioners concerned with regards to verification of growers.

Concerns have also been voiced by seed companies that transport of their seed under the agreed-upon standing operating procedures (SOPs) developed in consultation with the federal seed certification agency is being hampered on various premises, the notification adds.

Sources in the Punjab agriculture department told Business Recorder that the department wanted to ensure procurement of seed for 1.2 million acres of land for the next crop. This seed will be given to the growers on subsidized rates. However, certain elements were trying to use the tag of a federal agency for wheat smuggling and these committees and their verification would hopefully help to discourage the procurement by irrelevant elements.