The plight of farmers in Pakistan continues to worsen as the agricultural sector grapples with escalating input costs, policy inaction, and exploitative market practices, pushing it to the brink of collapse.
Leaders of Kissan Ittehad, one of the country’s leading farmers’ advocacy groups, have issued a stern warning to the government, demanding immediate measures to address the mounting challenges. The group has threatened to organize a large-scale protest march to Islamabad if their demands are not met.
The farmers are particularly focused on the Punjab government’s failure to raise the wheat support price and take action against rising input costs, which they claim are suffocating the sector. Kissan Ittehad leaders have also expressed frustration over the government’s reluctance to announce minimum crop prices, a delay they attribute to conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s free-market policies, which discourage subsidies, have left farmers vulnerable to exploitation by market forces, the leaders argue.
At a press conference earlier this week, Kissan Ittehad’s Central Chairman, Khalid Hussain, condemned the government’s lack of urgency in addressing the sector’s struggles. He accused the Punjab government of granting unchecked power to flour mills, allowing them to exploit farmers. Hussain claimed that these mills’ practices have led to billions of rupees in losses, worsening the financial distress of the farming community.
Accompanied by Central President Mian Umair Masood, Hussain called for a revision of the wheat support price to Rs5,000 per 40 kilograms and for the sugarcane support price to be fixed at Rs400 per 40 kilograms. He warned that failure to meet these demands would lead to a massive nationwide protest, potentially culminating in a prolonged sit-in in the federal capital.
Kissan Ittehad leaders are already calling 2024 a particularly difficult year for the country’s agriculture. Hussain cited delays in the announcement of minimum support prices for key crops like wheat and sugarcane as major factors contributing to the sector’s distress. Although the Sugar Mills Association had agreed to purchase sugarcane at Rs400 per maund, reports indicate that mills are currently paying farmers only Rs300 to Rs325 per maund, leading to significant financial losses.
In addition to pricing issues, farmers are grappling with soaring electricity prices for tube wells and rising irrigation water costs, which have jumped from Rs300 to Rs5,000 per hour, further squeezing their profits. Hussain also criticized the government for failing to provide quality seeds and for allowing black-market urea fertilizer to inflate production costs.
“Farmers are being left to shoulder the burden of rising input costs while the government continues to withhold subsidies that are crucial to the survival of the agricultural sector,” Hussain said.
As the crisis deepens, Kissan Ittehad is urgently calling on the government to take immediate action to stabilize the agricultural economy. The group’s demands for fair pricing, lower input costs, and the restoration of essential subsidies highlight the pressing need for intervention.
Without meaningful change, the threat of a major protest in Islamabad looms, potentially disrupting the capital and amplifying the growing frustration of Pakistan’s farming community.
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