LAHORE : March 7, 2023: After successful negotiations with the authorities , the All Pakistan Fertilizer Dealers Association (APFDA) has called off strike and resumed the sale of urea and other fertilizers in the Punjab forthwith.
While speaking to NEWSMAN on Tuesday , APFDA pattern- in- Chief , Mr Ghulam Ahmad , confirmed that the fertilizer dealers have called off the strike with immediate effect after having reached to an agreement by APFDA representatives with the concerned officials of the Punjab Agriculture (Extension) Department .
“We are very thankful to the senior officials of the Punjab Agriculture (Extension) Department who gave patient hearing to APFDA demands in Monday’s meeting and accepted all of them to help the fertilizer dealers to call off their strike and go back to their business. The fertilizer dealers will honour each and every point agreed between APFDA representatives and the authorities of the Punjab Agriculture (Extension) Department to ensure sale of urea and other fertilizers to the real farmers at fixed price”, Mr Ghulam Ahmad said.
According to APFDA pattern- in-Chief , the government of Punjab has agreed to put an end to supervisory sale of urea and its officials have trusted in the fertilizer dealers for transparent sale of urea and other fertilizers to the farmers . He maintained that APFDA will ensure 100% implementation of all points agreed with the authorities of the Punjab Agriculture (Extension) Department in Monday’s meeting. He said the fertilizer dealers will maintain full record of their sale of urea and other fertilizers for verification of the officials of the concerned department. He noted that the fertilizer dealers will ensure sale of urea to the farmers at fixed price as agreed with the officials of the Punjab Agrcuculture (Extension) Department . The dealers will also display urea price at a prominent place at their sale points to maintain transparency in sale of urea and other fertilizers, Mr Ghulam Ahmad confided.
The fertilizer dealers were on the strike for the last around two weeks against some harsh measures taken by the Punjab government to monitor sale of urea like appointing supervisors at sale points to monitor sale of urea . The fertilizer dealers were on strike against these coercive measures.
APFDA representatives had held a meeting with the authorities of the Punjab Agriculture (Extension) Department on Monday in Lahore to discuss thorny issues that forced the fertilizer dealers to go for strike in the Punjab and suspend sale of urea and other fertilizers.