Agriculture Department runs a unique campaign to ensure supply of quality farming inputs

Agriculture Department runs a unique campaign to ensure supply of quality farming inputs

Purchase bills of more than 2000 farmers checked

Farmers cautioned, dealers warned against sale/purchase of unbilled items

Nabaz-e-Punjab Bureau, Chandigarh, July 1:
Under the Tandarust Punjab Mission, to ensure soil health and quality produce, it is important that farmers get quality farming inputs at reasonable rates. Therefore, a special campaign is being run by the Agriculture Department, under which private dealers have to sell agricultural inputs including fertilizers and insecticides to the farmers with proper billing, informed Mr. Kahan Singh Pannu, Secretary Agriculture Punjab.
The Agriculture Department has observed that sometimes the sub-standard insecticides and fertilizers are sold to farmers on cash or credit, without a bill. The purchase of sub standard inputs not only adversely affects the produce and causes economic set back to the farmers but the absence of the bill prevents them from seeking compensation or action against the defaulter.
Mr. Pannu informed that the campaign to buy agricultural inputs on bill is getting full support from the farmers. He said that in the last few days, during the campaign, agricultural inputs purchase bills of more than 2000 farmers were checked. The ignorant farmers were educated, counselled and cautioned against the purchase of unbilled items while the defaulter dealers were warned against the malpractice.
Mr. Pannu said that the Agriculture Department will impart awareness to the farmers about the importance of these bills, by organizing camps in the villages. He further said that no purchase bill should be accepted as an ‘estimate bill’ or ‘kacchi parchi’. He appealed the farmers to avoid buying agriculture inputs without permanent bills as such items may be sub- standard or harmful.
Making an appeal to the dealers, he said that the dealers should support the campaign and sell agricultural inputs with due billing.