To check the practice of boosting sales of other products by illegally tagging them with fertilizers, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has formed four teams — each overseen by officers at the Joint Director level. These teams have been tasked with combating this illegal practice.   Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Thursday directed the formation of these teams following a meeting with the Majha Kissan Sangarsh Committee.   The Minister assured the Majha Kissan Sangarsh Committee delegation, led by its president Balwinder Singh, that Punjab has an adequate supply of DAP (diammonium phosphate), NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), SSP (Single Super Phosphate) for the upcoming Rabi season as Punjab is receiving sufficient quantities of DAP and other phosphatic fertilizers.   On the matter of forcefully tagging of other agricultural products with fertilizers, raised by the farmers delegation, Khudian said that the Punjab Government will not tolerate any exploitation of our farmers. He emphasized that any unscrupulous individuals attempting to coerce farmers into buying additional products along with fertilizers will face legal action.   Meanwhile, the states Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) KAP Sinha mentioned that Punjab anticipates sowing wheat over an area of about 35 lakh hectares, necessitating around 5.50 lakh metric tonnes of DAP fertilizer. He shared that he had a meeting with the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers and Union Fertiliser Secretary last month to secure sufficient supply of fertilisers for Punjab farmers for the upcoming Rabi season.   The Agriculture Minister responded to the demand for an increase in sugarcane prices by stating that the state has scheduled a meeting of the State Sugar Cane Control Board on September 27, and all mills will commence crushing on schedule. He also mentioned that the capacity of the Cooperative Sugar Mill in Batala has been raised to 3500 Ton Crushing per Day (TCD) from its previous capacity of 1500 TCD.

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