Fertilizers, agro chemicals be listed as essential commodities: Dilawar Mir

Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) leader Mohammad Dilawar Mir on Monday urged the government to include production, supply and distribution of fertilizers and agrochemicals in the list of essential commodities notified by the government.

In a statement, Mir saidwhile government has put necessary restrictions on public movement and otherservices in view of the situation arising due to covid-19, the farmingcommunity and fruit growers were suffering for want of fertilizers and agrochemicals which were direly needed in this season.

   

“The government should keepin view that summer crop is not only a key crop cycle for farmers but isequally important for growth of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy which largelydepends on agricultural sector,” Mir said, adding the government must notifyand include transportation of fertilizers and agro chemicals in its essentialservices and commodities list.

Mir said due to non availability of fertilizer and seeds,farmers in J&K would lose crops and overall crop production would bedrastically impacted.

“Theuse of fertilizers and oil and agro chemical spray in orchards is a time boundprocess to cope up with apple scab which is already a declared epidemic in theworld. If these essential commodities are not made available to the farmers andorchardists at this point of time, the same can’t be compensated by any meansin an off season,” he said.

Similarly, he said whilePunjab has already listed production, supply and distribution of fertilizersand agro chemicals in its notified lists of essential commodities and services,the J&K government has ignored this important sector.

He urged the government toprovide packing, grading and priority transportation facilities to farmers andfruit growers so that the fruit stored in orchards and cold stores was notallowed to rot due to prevailing lockdown.

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