The granary: Wheat procurement drive to kick off April end

Wheat will be purchased from small farmers first, says Shahbaz

LAHORE:

“We have had a bumper wheat crop this year,” Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said at a meeting on Tuesday. “Our first priority is to protect the interests of the farmers.”

The chief minister was addressing a meeting to review various proposals with regard to the wheat procurement campaign this year.

He said the farmers will be paid a support price and the government will take all necessary measures to stabilise the price of wheat. He said they would ensure that the slump in the international market for wheat would not reflect on farmers in the Punjab.



Sharif said the wheat procurement campaign will be launched at the end of April. Farmers will be given gunny bags on a “first come, first served” basis, he said. Sharif said the government had a transparent policy for the distribution of gunny bags. “No arhitis (middlemen) will be involved in the wheat procurement campaign…they will not be allowed to exploit farmers.”

The chief minister said all necessary facilities will be provided to cultivators at the procurement centres. He said complaint cells would be established at the provincial, divisional, district and tehsil levels and farmers’ complaints will be addressed on priority.

He directed Minister for Food Bilal Yasin and the food secretary to make their phone numbers public so that farmers could contact them directly in case of a problem.  He said the government was planning to incorporate information technology in this year’s procurement campaign. He said a citizen feedback system could be introduced as well. He said modern technological solutions could help in effective monitoring of the wheat procurement campaign.

Sharif issued instructions for wheat to be bought from small-scale farmers first. He said that he would personally monitor the campaign. Ministers and secretaries concerned will remain in the field to supervise the procurement. Several MPAs presented proposals for the procurement campaign and the food secretary gave a briefing on arrangements made in this regard. Ministers Bilal Yasin, Shafiq, Iqbal Channer and MPA Rana Sanaullah among others attended the meeting.

FATA lawmakers visit

A delegation of senators and MNAs from the FATA, led by MNA Alhaj Shah Jee Gul Afridi, met Sharif on Tuesday.

He said people displaced because of the North Waziristan operation had sacrificed a lot to bring peace to Pakistan. He said their return to their homes boded well. The Punjab government has extended all out support to displaced people, he said. “It is our national duty to honour the sacrifices made by the IDPs for the nation.”

Sharif said the Army had achieved glorious success in Operation Zarb-e-Azb and was writing a new chapter of courage in the war against terrorism. He said there was no room for terrorists, extremists and their facilitators in the country.

He said the army had rendered invaluable sacrifices for the country. He said the government believed that rooting out terrorism required more than just force. “We need to extend education, health and employment opportunities to troubled areas… that is essential for rooting out terrorism.”

He said that tolerance, restraint and brotherhood were essential for a peaceful society. He said the government will do its best to fulfil its promise to build a peaceful and safe Pakistan for the future generations. Senators Taj Muhammad Afridi, Aurangzeb Khan, Momin Khan and Sajjad Hussain Toori; and MNAs Dr GG Jamal, Nasir Khan, Haji Bismillah Khan, Sajid Hussain Toori and Bilalur Rehman were part of the delegation.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2015.