Concerns: Larger procurement quota sought for Faisalabad

FAISALABAD:

The Flourmills Association (Faisalabad division) protested on Sunday against an apprehended reduction in the wheat procurement quota for the division and demanded that the quota should instead be increased.

Muhammad Naseem, a spokesman for the Flourmills Association, said that the government had announced it would purchase 540,000 metric tonnes wheat from Faisalabad division. He said a notification had also been issued in this regard.

“Now the Food Department officials have decided to reduce the wheat procurement quota for Faisalabad division “to benefit to other divisions in the Punjab”

He said the district and divisional food controllers had been issued instructions in this regard. “The Faisalabad division already had a low quota of wheat procurement this year. It should have been increased to 1 million metric tonnes in view of production and consumption patterns in this division, but the food authorities rather decided to reduce it. “The reduction in wheat procurement quota of Faisalabad division will not only create problems for the flourmills but also risk waste of produce of wheat,” he added.

He demanded that Faisalabad division be given a procurement quota proportionate to the ratio of wheat production in the division. He regretted that the Food Department “was not ready to focus” on their request.

Khalid Hameed Warraich, a spokesman for the Farmers’ Rights Protection Organisation, also protested against the reduction in wheat procurement quota.

He said, “Wheat was the only produce which played an important role in mitigating the sufferings of farmers’ community and enabling them to meet their day-to-day expenditures.”

He said that the reduction in wheat procurement quota would force wheat growers to sell their produce at low prices. A large fraction of their produce, he feared, would also go waste.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2013.