Farmers kept waiting: Crop procurement rates still unannounced

“A bag of DAP was being sold at Rs3,400 before the budget was announced in June,” said SCA president Dr Nadeem Qamar.


Our Correspondent September 29, 2014

HYDERABAD:


Agriculturists urged the Sindh government to announce the procurement rates of cotton, rice and sugarcane, saying that farmers were being exploited by the buyers.


Growers at the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) meeting on Monday complained that they are forced to sell their crops at throwaway prices. They said that the cotton gins and the rice mills are manipulating the market as the government has not yet issued notifications for the rates of Rs3,200 per maund for cotton and Rs1,000 per maund for rice as promised. The mills are buying cotton and rice at Rs2,400 and Rs850 per maund, respectively.


The meeting also pointed out that the provincial government had still not implemented its decision of providing a subsidy of Rs400 per bag of DAP fertiliser even though it was announced in the budget. “A bag of DAP was being sold at Rs3,400 before the budget was announced in June,” said SCA president Dr Nadeem Qamar. “Its rate has now been increased to Rs3,650 in anticipation of the subsidy, which has still not been implemented three months on.”


He added that the need to use DAP would increase massively from October, which is when the farmers will begin to sow the sugarcane and wheat crops.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2014.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ