Around 6.37 per cent pesticide samples in Bahawalpur and 4.8 per cent in Multan have been found unfit for use so far in 2013, an Agriculture Department press release said on Tuesday.
Dr Naseem Ahmad, in charge of pesticides quality control laboratory in Bahawalpur, was quoted as saying that these pesticides cost Rs50,000 to Rs60,000 to the Punjab government and was a waste of money.
He said 833 pesticide samples were tested at the Bahawalpur laboratory since July 2013. Of these, he said, 53 were found to be unfit. He said 23 of these samples had been collected during raids. Nineteen of these were found unfit. The rest had been collected randomly.
Between July 2012 and July 2013, he said, 50 out of 1,511 pesticide samples tested had been declared unfit for use.
According to Naveed Asmat Kahloon, the assistant director of agriculture information in Multan, adulteration was detected in 4.80 per cent of the samples collected since July 2013.
He said a crackdown against pesticides adulterators would be launched on the orders of the agriculture minister. He said a reference laboratory had been set up at Kala Shah Kaku, which would start functioning soon. He stressed a need to set up a provincial level control centre to check adulteration.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2013.