Chandigarh,
The issues flagged by several stakeholders, particularly the agriculture sector, will be addressed by the 15th Finance Commission, which on a three-day visit to the state.

In a session with agriculture experts from the region on Thursday, Ashok Lahiri, a member of the commission, discussed challenges, priorities and opportunities.

The session was organised by the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

The concerns raised included building climate resilience into agro-technological packages, improving resource conservation technologies, integrated disease and insect pest management and strengthening precise and accelerated crop improvement.

The meeting also discussed how to ensure food and nutritional security for increasing population under increasing per capita income, secure livelihood of a large number of marginal and small farmers, conserve natural resources for future generations and increase participation in agriculture trade.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Lahiri said the terms of reference of the commission include how anticipated taxes were to be divided between the states and the Centre, and also how the funds meant for states were to be distributed between them.