Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon Saturday asked Vice Chancellor Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) to ensure that advertisements of only those spray oils/pesticides is made in public which are certified by the University .Dr. Samoon said the farmers and orchardists should not be duped through advertisements of fake and uncertified companies and asked VC SKUAST to keep track of such advertisements and also appealed media agencies including radio and TV to entertain advertisements of only those companies which are certified by the SKUAST.
The Divisional Commissioner said this while chairing a meeting with the officers of Horticulture and Agriculture Department and SKUAST. He also directed Deputy Commissioners of all the districts to ensure distribution of spray oil schedule to the farmers at an earliest.The meeting was informed that Directorate of Horticulture Kashmir has projected a requirement of 97 lakh litres of Tree Spray Oil (TSO) for current year for its use in horticulture sector.Director Agriculture informed that till March 4, 2016 the department has distributed 47.55 lakh litres of TSO in Kashmir division while 11.00 lakh litres are in transit and will be distributed within a couple of days.He informed the Divisional Commissioner that currently there is no shortage of TSO in the Kashmir Division.
Dr. Samoon directed the officers to notify the standardized rate for the tree spray oil, distributed by the various dealers across the State. He asked all the companies associated with the Department of Horticulture and Agriculture to get the rates publish in local newspapers so that orchardists and farmers don’t get duped in the market.The officials gave a detailed summary of the rates of TSO by various authorized Oil companies, including Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, and Indian Oil among others. Dr. Samoon said the government would make sure that the farmers and fruit growers across the State get hassle-free services.He directed the Enforcement wing of the department to enhance their monitoring and supervision in the field and speed up the sampling procedure, so that quality inputs will reach the farmers well in time besides checking flow of spurious and misbranded fertilizers and pesticides in the market.