Monday, Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Nauman Ahmed Langrial said that a better potato crop was expected this year. The minister claimed that potatoes have been grown on over 180.000 ha of land in Punjab last year, and more than four million tonnes of the produce was yielded. He said that the per hectare potato production in the country had been 20 tonnes on an average, while other countries had been yielding 25 to 30 tonnes per ha.
The minister said that the Punjab government would ensure due reward to the potato farmers for their labour. He said the government was continuously monitoring prices of essential items so that the prices of vegetables could be kept within purchase power of the common man.
He made the promise that during the month of Ramadan, the government would not allow price-hikes of agricultural products including all vegetables. A zero-tolerance policy against hoarding of agricultural products would be put in place and implementation of price control mechanism would be ensured, he concluded.
