LAHORE: Minister for Agriculture, Punjab Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi has said that the federal government has decided that no tax will be levied on agricultural inputs and all fertilisers are available in abundance for the need of Rabi crops 2021-22 (FY22).
He expressed these views during a press conference in Multan on availability of fertilizers & other agricultural inputs for Rabi crops and about “More Wheat Growing Campaign”.
“Dealers involved in illicit profit will be brought to justice. Strict crackdown will be taken against those elements involved in the nefarious business of black marketing,” he said.
The provincial minister said that the Agriculture Department has prepared a working plan and alerted the teams so that in case of any complaint strict action will be taken against black marketing in no time.
He said that government was providing subsidised gas to the fertiliser industry to keep the prices of urea at a reasonable level. He said that compared to the prices of urea in international markets, which are available at a rate of Rs10,000 per bag, Pakistan has maintained the price at Rs1,800.
In view of the importance of phosphorse fertilisers , a subsidy of Rs1000 per bag is being given on DAP fertilizer while a farmer can buy a maximum of 20 bags of DAP on subsidy rate. Apart from this, subsidy is also being given on herbicides and cannabis.
“Farmers are being asked to add recommended amount of fertilisers in their crops. A strategy is being formulated for compensation. Farmers’ conventions are being organized at district level to guide the farmers on modern production technology of Rabi Crops including wheat. It has also mobilized students of agricultural universities to visit their areas and provide guidance to farmers on modern wheat production technology,” he said.
Gardezi said one million bags of approved varieties of wheat were provided on subsidy this year under the national plan to increase wheat production per acre. Approved varieties of wheat are being sown on a total area of 10 million acres,” he concluded.
