Govt faces challenge of protecting farmers

LAHORE:

Amidst an expected plentiful wheat harvest this year, the grower community, especially small farmers, are in fix due to fluctuating wheat price and market exploitation.

As wheat harvesting begins across Punjab, representatives of farmer groups have raised concerns about their manipulation by hoarders and middlemen.

Although Punjab Food Minister Bilal Yasin has promised a grower-friendly policy, the official wheat support price is the same as last year. According to observers, the main challenge for the government would be to rein in a mafia out to exploit the farmers.

The provincial minister promised to procure two million metric tonnes of wheat and the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) 1.4 million tonnes.

“The minimum wheat support price for the current season is Rs3,900 per 40kg. The food directors would set the division and district-wise targets in line with the provincial targets and deputy directors would set the targets for each procurement centre," the minister said.

"Gunny bag distribution has started for the purchase of wheat," he said, asserting that the procurement campaign would continue till the target is achieved.

The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will set up a control room and call centres to monitor the process and will be responsible for all IT-related solutions required for the wheat procurement.

"Delivery charges at rate of Rs30 per 100kg would be paid additionally to suppliers and growers along with the minimum support price of Rs3,900 per 40Kg,” the minister said.

Bilal Yasin said 393 wheat purchase centres had been set up for the procurement across the province and six jute bags of 100kg or 12 PP bags of 50kg per acre would be provided to farmers.

"Private purchase, transportation and storage of wheat would be allowed on the condition that the buyers would declare their wheat stock before the officials concerned for the record," he added.

Since wheat is the country’s staple food with annual per capita consumption of almost 125kg, many a times it has to import the commodity despite having good and vast agriculture land.

A reason behind this discrepancy generally is that whenever there is a bumper yield, the farmers do not get proper price. Therefore, they reduce wheat cultivation area in the next season.

Another problem is the availability of inputs on standard rates as hoarders purchase fertilisers and seed in bulk and later sell them to farmers above the prescribed rates.

"I was forced to purchase a urea fertiliser bag for Rs5,500 instead of the declared price of Rs3,600, and DAP for up to Rs2,000 over the normal price," said a Faisalabad-based farmer, Muhammad Imran.

He cultivates eight acres of land located on the tail that is hardly irrigated by canal water.

He said he had to buy tube-well water at additional cost. "Watering my crop twice or thrice during the season means paying Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 to a tube-well owner for irrigating one acre of land. Then there are labour charges for cultivating, harvesting and crushing," Imran added.

"Therefore, in a situation when fertilisers, seed and water already cost much, leaving us on the mercy of exploiters would ruin us," he lamented.

Representatives of the Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) and Pakistan Kisan Ittehad have demanded that the government enhance the procurement limit and revise the support price.

"We desire that the government should procure five million tonnes of wheat at Rs5,000 per 40kg," KBP President Sardar Zafar Hussain said.

"Moreover, the if procurement is delayed and the field is left open for private buyers, the price would drop, ruining the farmers," he opined.

Pakistan Kisan Ittehad leader Khalid Mehmood Khokhar demanded that the food department buy at least 3.5 million tonnes of fresh wheat, provide minimum 200 sacks to each farmer and pay a support price of Rs4,700 per 40kg.

The representatives of farmers also demanded action against those responsible for importing 800,000 tonnes of surplus wheat by amending a February 14 decision to ban the import.

"If there is already imported wheat and a plentiful crop on cards, the farmers will have to suffer loss," Khalid Mehmood remarked.

"So the Punjab government should buy more wheat this year to save the farmers from loss," he stressed.

He said that if the price of wheat is not paid adequately, the farmers would be unable to buy fertilisers and pesticides for cultivating maize and mustard.

Meanwhile, PASSCO has also started the process to procure 1.4 million tonnes of wheat and has distributed gunny bags among growers to complete the procurement within the stipulated time.

The Punjab Agriculture Department has advised farmers to make proper arrangements for ensuring smooth wheat harvesting as poor management could result in up to 12 per cent crop losses.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2024.