PML-N has taken practical steps to bolster agriculture sector: Bosan

Kissan Ittehad hails budget allowance for agriculture sector

MULTAN: The government’s support of agriculture is reflected in the budget it has announced for the upcoming fiscal year, Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan said at a press conference on Sunday. He was joined by senior leaders of the Kisan Ittehad (KI).

“Our government has taken practical steps to provide famers relief…by slashing the cost of production by increasing per acre yield, reducing prices of inputs and by giving farmers incentives to cultivate crops,” the minister said.

The press conference was held at the Multan Press Club. Kisan Ittehad chairman Khalid Mehmood Khokhar, Abdul Hafeez Ahmed of the Bahawalpur KI chapter, Rana Muhammad Amin of the Lodhran KI chapter, Chaudhry Muhammad Akram of the Vehari KI chapter, and Muhammad Sajid Majid Bodla of the Multan KI chapter also addressed the press conference.

The minister said that the government would give a subsidy of Rs400 on a bag of urea and Rs300 on DAP. He said fertiliser manufacturers would also give a discount of Rs50 per bag to farmers. Banks will advance soft agricultural loans of Rs700 billion to farmers. “We are prepared to slash the price of wheat if the cost of production goes down considerably.”

The minister said that the government would ensure a fair return on milk to farmers. “Middle men have become millionaires by exploiting dairy farmers. They purchase milk at Rs40 per litre and sell it for between Rs80 and Rs120 per litre.”

Bosan said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had considered the grievances of the farmers’ community and had announced generous incentives for the sector which is the backbone of the economy.

He said although the government had made a good move by announcing relief for the agriculture sector, the incentives were not enough to boost agriculture growth at a rapid pace. Reduction in the prices of fertilisers and pesticides and subsidies on electricity for tube wells were appreciable but the prices could have been slashed down to bring them at par with the rates availed by farmers in neighbouring countries, he said.

Bosan stressed the need for the implementation of incentives in letter and spirit. “Federal and provincial governments should ensure that farmers receive the fruits of the budget allowances without discrimination.”

KI leader Khalid Mehmood Khokhar thanked Bosan for pleading their case before the prime minister and chief ministers. Khokhar said it seemed that the government had finally wised up to the issues faced by farmers in the country.

He said the relief announced by the government in the annual budget would help growers enhance the capacity of yield per acre. “This will ultimately prove beneficial for the economy of the country.”

He said it had been a long time since the government announced such a generous package for farmers. “This is an unexpected boon which will prove a catalyst for rapid growth of the agriculture sector.”

The government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has considered the issues of the agriculture sector and has announced incentives to boost a key sector and major contributor of the economy, he said.

Khokar said Pakistan’s economy was heavily dependent on the agriculture sector. “If farmers are not given fair rates for their crops, they will leave rural areas and move to urban localities in search for jobs.” He said there had been mass rural-urban migrations over the last decades. “This has created a plethora of problems in urban localities, which the government already has a hard time dealing with.”

Development outlay

MNA Begum Perveen Masood Bhatti welcomed the government’s announcement of Rs800 billion development outlay in the next fiscal year. “This will help accelerate the pace of socio-economic development in Pakistan.”

She made these remarks while talking to party workers at her residence. “Rs100 billion raise in the developmental budget is reflective of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s agenda of progress, peace and prosperity through modernisation and building physical infrastructure to meet the socio-economic challenges of the modern age.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2016.