Chandigarh, January 21:Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian made a decisive move. He aims to enhance the efficiency of agricultural schemes/programs in the state. On Tuesday, he directed all the Chief Agriculture Officers (CAOs) to furnish biweekly progress reports. The move ensures close monitoring of all ongoing centrally and state-sponsored agricultural schemes. This allows for timely interventions and improvements.

Khudian reviewed the status of the ongoing schemes

Gurmeet Singh Khudian chaired a series of meetings with CAOs here at Kisan Bhawan.Minister reviewed the status of the ongoing schemes and projects in seven districts yesterday. He called the remaining district officers today to review the progress of their respective districts. He also asked the field staff to accomplish the targets related to sampling seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers. This is to ensure quality agricultural inputs are provided to the state farmers. He emphasized on the importance of regular reporting in identifying challenges and successes within the department. The state government seeks to enhance transparency and accountability. They aim for improved productivity and better support for farmers. They plan to achieve this by implementing a biweekly reporting system.

Biweekly ; Someone misbranded 81 samples of pesticides:

As part of the department’s quality control drive, Gurmeet Singh Khudian stated that they set specific targets for sampling. These targets included 6100 for seeds, 4800 for pesticides, and 3700 for fertilizers. To date, authorities have drawn 5082 seed samples, 2867 pesticide samples, and 2473 fertilizer samples. However, he noted that the quality test failed 141 seed samples and misbranded 81 pesticide samples. In addition, 78 fertilizer samples were found to be sub-standard. Consequently, the department has initiated legal actions. They are targeting the dealers and firms whose samples failed to meet quality norms during the sampling process.  The Agriculture Minister reviewed the progress of the ongoing centrally and state sponsored agricultural schemes. During the review, he gave specific instructions to the CAOs. They were asked to utilize the funds meticulously. In addition, they must submit the utilization certificates to the competent authorities before the end of this financial year.