LAHORE: The agriculture task force found four per cent of fertilisers substandard in three divisions of Punjab.

A meeting of the task force held here on Tuesday with Additional Secretary Rana Ali Arshad in the chair was told that out of 1,253 samples of various kinds of compost collected in Lahore, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi divisions, 45 were found to be of poor quality and substandard during the ongoing year.

It was also told that 73 cases were registered against the dealers found involved in selling substandard/spurious fertilisers and pesticides and 35 of them were taken into custody.

Mr Arshad directed the staff to ensure collection of 100 samples of various brands of fertilisers and pesticides being sold in the market so that the menace of marketing of poor quality farm inputs could be curbed.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2022