ISLAMABAD: The Sub-Committee of the National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products, after detailed deliberations, unanimously urged the government to set the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat for the year 2019-20 at Rs1,400 per 40kg.
The members of the committee emphatically stressed that the MSP should be in line with price hike in agricultural inputs particularly fertilizers, fuel, and pesticides. They contended that the government’s recommended MSP at Rs1,350 should be revised.
The meeting, held at the Parliament House on Wednesday, was chaired by Sub-Committee Convener Syed Fakhar Imam.
The meeting was held on the directions of the National Assembly speaker who referred the business to the sub-committee after several MNAs complained regarding the support price for wheat, minimum indicative price for sugarcane, negative growth of cotton, outstanding power bills against the farmers and increase in farmers electricity bills.
The committee members expressed disagreement with the suggested minimum support price at Rs1,350 by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. They contended that the aforementioned price was not reflective of the recent price hike in agricultural inputs. They stated that the farmers across the country demanded an upward revision of the minimum support price for wheat.
