37,000 bags of seeds purchased from D.I.Khan center found defective, committee told
\nJAVED KHAN
\nPESHAWAR
\nSenior officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agriculture Department on Thursday told a provincial assembly committee that eight officers in grades 17, 18, and 19 have been suspended over defective wheat seeds distribution to farmers across the province.
\nThe officials informed that due to substandard wheat distributed through the department\u2019s seed centers failed to germinate, causing widespread crop losses and substantial financial damage to farmers and landowners across the province.
\nThe KP Assembly\u2019s Standing Committee on Agriculture held a meeting to address the widespread failure of wheat seeds provided to farmers across the province.
\nThe meeting was chaired by Abdul Salam Afridi, Chairman of the Standing Committee and Member of the Provincial Assembly, and attended by committee members Zarshad Khan, Dawood Shah, Makhdoomzada Muhammad Aftab Haider, Muhammad Nisar Baz, Sharafat Ali, Fazal Elahi, as well as senior officials from the Agriculture, Law, and Finance departments.
\nChairman Afridi described the meeting as \u201cof exceptional importance,\u201d noting that defective wheat seeds distributed through the Agriculture Department\u2019s seed centers had failed to germinate, causing widespread damage to crops and financial losses to farmers and landowners.
\nThe Special Secretary and Director General of Agriculture explained that around 37,000 bags of sealed wheat seeds purchased from the Dera Ismail Khan Seed Center were found to be defective after cultivation.
\nIn response to questions about accountability, the Director General of Agriculture stated that eight officers in grades 17, 18, and 19 had been suspended and a departmental inquiry had been initiated.
\nCommittee member Fazal Elahi, emphasizing the seriousness of the issue, proposed the formation of a sub-committee that would include farmers\u2019 representatives to ensure a fair and thorough investigation.
\nThe committee unanimously decided that the suspended officers would be reinstated pending the sub-committee\u2019s recommendations, which will determine the final responsibility for the defective seeds.
\nChairman Afridi directed senior officials of the Agriculture Department to provide accurate and comprehensive data at the next meeting to facilitate further action on the matter.
\nThis meeting underscores the provincial government\u2019s commitment to addressing agricultural challenges and holding officials accountable for lapses that affect the livelihoods of farmers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
37,000 bags of seeds purchased from D.I.Khan center found defective, committee told JAVED KHAN PESHAWAR Senior officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agriculture Department on Thursday told a provincial assembly committee that eight officers in grades 17, 18, and 19 have been suspended over defective wheat seeds distribution to farmers across the province. The officials informed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524524,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-524493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n