MULTAN: Punjab Agricultural Marketing Regulatory Authority (PAMRA) will put agricultural marketing on modern lines that will facilitate the masses. This was stated by Secretary Agriculture Wasif Khursheed in a press release issued here the other day.
After imposition of PAMRA act, the marketing committees would operate under new system. The marketing of fruits, vegetables, cotton, fisheries and others would be conducted separately, he told. He remarked that the separate markets would not only facilitate farmers but also consumers. He said PAMRA act has reduced the role of middle-men. Punjab is food basket for the whole country as its role is vital for provision of food, he said.
The Secretary maintained that Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar was taking special interest on reforms in agriculture marketing system. Over 30 agriculture markets, model bazaar have been introduced where consumers could purchase commodities from farmers directly and now, the farmers are not dependent on middlemen, he added.
The Secretary Agriculture also informed that Rs 21.27 billion under PM’s Agriculture Emergency Programmes were being spent on marketing of agricultural commodities. He hoped that the prices of kitchen items would reduce remarkably under this new system.