Farmers threaten march on capital if demands not met

ISLAMABAD: The Kissan Ittehad has warned of a protest march on Islamabad if the wheat support price is not increased and the Punjab government does not reduce input costs.

However, the farmer leaders failed to acknowledge that the government was not announcing minimum rates of sugarcane and wheat in the wake of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to end all subsidies and promote a free market economy.

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, Kissan Ittehad Central Chairman Khalid Hussain said that the Punjab government had given a free hand to flour mills to exploit farmers who were causing billions of rupees loss to the agriculture economy.

Flanked with Central President Mian Umair Masood, he said that the support price for wheat should be increased to Rs5,000 and for sugarcane to Rs400 per 40 kg.

Demand increase in support price and cut in input costs

“If the demands are not met, farmers from all over the country will launch protest march to Islamabad and even initiate a sit-in in the capital,” Mr Hussain warned.

He further said that the 2024 calendar was a disastrous year for Pakistan’s agriculture, and the farmers faced many injustices, including the slashing of the wheat support price.

He added that the Punjab government did not fix the sugarcane rate, while the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association announced buying cane at Rs400 per maund, but their members were offering just Rs300 to Rs325 per maund.

He added that the electricity bills for tube wells surged, and the irrigation water rates increased to Rs5,000 from Rs300 per hour.

He also slammed the authorities for low-quality seeds and increased urea fertiliser rates due to black marketing.

“Due to all these factors, the input cost for the farmer has increased, while the government was not providing any subsidy to the agriculture sector,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024