Several farmers in Muktsar district have alleged that they were deceived by the misleading sale of a product named 'Super' fertilizer marketed by a private company through some cooperative societies. According to farmers, they were led to believe that the product was a high-grade fertilizer Single Super Phosphate (SSP) based on its name and packaging. Officials of the Agriculture Department have clarified that the product is not SSP, but merely calcium sulphate, which is chemically identical to ordinary gypsum and is ordinarily used as a soil conditioner. While a standard 50-kg bag of gypsum is priced around USD 2.37, the 'Super' product was sold for a much higher price of USD 8.78 per bag. Panjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said his dept was unable to take action regarding the inflated pricing, as the product was being distributed through cooperative societies, which are considered end consumers and fall outside the purview of regulatory action by his dept. Meanwhile, with the harvesting of green gram and spring maize at its peak in Panjab, farmers are using a toxic herbicide Paraquat Dichloride to quickly dry the produce. Paraquat is a highly toxic compound that can cause serious health hazards. Both green gram and spring maize are also selling below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). While green gram MSP is USD 100 per quintal it is fetching between USD 81-86 per quintal. Green gram MSP is USD 26 per quintal, it is fetching USD 19-23 per quintal. Concurrently, after receiving consent from the Panjab government, the national Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee has allowed field trials of two kinds of Genetically Modified (GM) maize at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). The trials will study weed-control efficacy in herbicide-tolerant maize hybrids with the application of Glyphosate-K salt, and the efficacy of insect-protected maize hybrids against targeted pests. While activists have raised the alarm against the move, on 18 Jul, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), the farmer’s wing of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), demanded cancellation of the permission granted to the tests. A delegation headed by BKS Panjab chief Ravinder Singh Dhillon submitted a memorandum to Dr. Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice Chancellor, PAU.
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