Sangrur, Oct. 14 -- Amid the Supreme Court's stringent directives against stubble burning and the Punjab government's push for crop diversification, Punjab agriculture department is facing severe staff crunch with 30% of the key posts lying vacant. According to officials familiar with the development, of the 1,449 sanctioned posts in the agriculture department across Punjab, 435 are lying vacant. Key positions, including agriculture officers, agriculture development officers (ADO) and agriculture extension officers - crucial for farmer education, machine subsidy distribution and technical support - remain vacant, affecting the department's ability to assist farmers on the ground, officials familiar with the matter said. The situation is dire in Sangrur and Malerkotla, where 60.8% of sanctioned posts are vacant. Of the 120 positions in these districts, 73 remain vacant. This includes a 78% vacancy rate for agriculture extension Officers (11 out of 14 vacant), a 75% vacancy rate for agriculture sub-inspectors (42 out of 56 vacant), and a 60% vacancy rate for agriculture officers. Despite a full staff for higher-level positions like deputy director of agriculture and joint director, lower-level roles remain critically understaffed. Statewide, agriculture officers have a 41.2% vacancy rate (92 out of 223 vacant), while the vacancy rate for agriculture development officers stands at 35.5%. The Agriculture Extension Officer vacancy rate is comparatively lower at 4.7%. The shortage of field-level personnel has had a direct impact on the quality of support farmers receive. Agriculture extension officers, responsible for delivering vital updates from Punjab Agriculture University and offering technical assistance, are especially in short supply. Similarly, agriculture sub-inspectors play a vital role in supporting the work of extension officers. Agriculture development officers, who ensure the quality of fertilizers, oversee crop management practices, and handle regulatory work, are also stretched thin. The lack of sufficient staff has resulted in fewer farm visits and delayed responses to critical agricultural issues such as crop residue management (CRM), a key concern in light of the ongoing stubble burning issue. Barnala chief agriculture officer Harbans Singh said: "We are severely understaffed, and the existing staff are overloaded. Our ability to provide timely assistance to farmers is compromised." "We have vast areas to manage, including over 1.5 lakh acres of farmland and thousands of farmers. With the current staff shortage, we're struggling to keep up with the technical support needed to manage inputs like fertilizers and conduct essential farm visits. We also give guidance to farmers on crop residue management (CRM). We try to help the farmers contacting us for CRM, but the staff shortage hampers this work," said an agriculture officer, requesting anonymity....