The Multan Division has met its cotton sowing target of almost 93 percent, according to the commissioner.

MULTAN: Engineer Aamir Khattak, Commissioner Multan Division, has asked officers to initiate a crackdown on phoney fertilisers and pesticides across the division.

On Tuesday, he presided over a meeting to examine the functioning of the agricultural department in this city.

He also said that the division’s cotton cultivation objective of 93.8 percent had been met, with work continuing to meet the 100 percent target.

He urged authorities to take action against individuals who were engaged in the burning of agricultural wastes. Farmers’ livelihoods are inextricably linked to the soil. The commissioner directed that certified Urea and DAP fertilisers be made available at reasonable prices, and he directed that all enterprises inventory their stock and send a list to the commissioner’s office.

According to Aamir Khattak, the Punjab government is taking efforts to provide help to farmers. The rewards of government policy should be distributed to farmers.

During a briefing, the Commissioner was informed that 1536 samples of urea fertiliser were collected throughout divisions this year, of which 35 were determined to be contaminated and 20 to be poor. There were 46 occurrences using non-standard blended fertilisers.

Similarly, 45845 kg of non-standard fertilisers worth more than Rs 19.7 million were confiscated. Additional Commissioner Sarfraz Ahmed, Department of Agriculture personnel, farmers, and others were in attendance.