Target-less procurement decried

Wheat growers warn of protest amidst fears of market crash

LAHORE:

For the first time, the Punjab Food Department will carry out wheat procurement without a target set by the provincial cabinet.

After the cabinet did not set the target in the wheat procurement policy, the responsibility of the food department in this regard has increased.

According to sources, the department has gunny bags available to buy two million tonnes of wheat. However, under the policy of the authorities, it will try to buy less than 500,000 tonnes of the commodity.

The provincial cabinet has also significantly reduced number of sacks per acre and transportation charges for issuance of the official gunny bags.

On the other hand, farmer organisations have criticised the procurement policy, expressing fear that middlemen, traders and flour mills have been given a free rein to exploit them.

Leaders of farmer groups expressed apprehension that there was a risk of the market of fresh wheat in Punjab crashing and the price falling to about Rs3,200 per maund.

They warned that all farmer organisations would give a call for a protest demonstration in Lahore after mutual consultation.

Meanwhile, the Flour Mills Association asserted that the business should be free. The mills in the province have the capacity to up to three million tonnes of wheat.

Under the policy approved by the cabinet, 384 procurement centres will be set up in the province. The number was the same last year.

In the past three years, the food department had not fixed the limit of area for issuing official gunny bags for the procurement. Earlier, the department used to set a limit of up to 12 acres every year.

However, this time a limit of six acres has been fixed for issuing the Bardana.

In the past, 10 sacks per acre were issued, but this year the number has been reduced to six.

At the same time, the transportation charges paid to farmers per sack have been reduced from Rs60 to Rs30.

The provincial cabinet also approved the abolition of per kilogramme commission of banks for payment to farmers for the wheat procurement.

The sources said the food department had gunny bags for two million tonnes of wheat. The tender for purchasing the bags has expired and if the government has to take a decision to procure more wheat in the coming days due to pressure from the farmers, immediate acquisition of additional gunny bags will be a big challenge.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Pakistan Kisan Ittehad President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar said the official support price Rs3,900 were maund was low and the cost of production had increased a lot.

He said that the limits of six sacks per acre and six acres were unjustified as the owner of up to 12.5 acres of land were considered small farmers.

He alleged that the government had announced “an anti-farmer policy at the behest of the bureaucracy”.

As a result of the policy, the price of freshly harvested wheat would drop and the farmers would suffer a huge loss, he warned.

All Pakistan Kisan Foundation chief Mahmood Bukhari said the policy approved by the cabinet showed that the government does not want to buy wheat and will leave the farmers at the mercy of traders, middlemen and flour mills.

He said an official had assured him earlier that the government would buy plenty of wheat from the farmers.

On Wednesday morning, the price of fresh wheat in Rahim Yar Khan was Rs3,500 per 40kg and the implementation of the policy and arrival of more wheat in the markets would result in a reduction after Eid, he warned.

He said all farmer organisations would jointly protest over the issue.

However, Pakistan Flour Mills Association Chairman Asim Raza insisted that the business should always be free. In the current situation, the flour mills do not have the capacity to buy more than three million tonnes of wheat to accumulate stock, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2024.