Farmers urge govt to increase wheat support price to Rs1,600

LAHORE: Wheat farmers on Thursday urged the government to increase the support price to at least Rs1,600 per 40kg.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Wednesday had increased wheat support price by Rs35, from 1,365 per 40kg to Rs1,400 per 40kg.

Although the farmers appreciated the government for increasing the support price despite economic hardships, they maintained the said hike in support was “insufficient” for them.

“The March spell of rain has wreaked havoc on wheat farms in Punjab and Sindh, leaving the farmers in trouble,” said Ahsan Malik, a farmer from Muzaffargarh. “Their [farmers] losses are enormous but the government [ECC], instead of giving relief for them, announced Rs20 billion subsidy [on electricity] for filthy rich millers.”

He said the government should fix wheat support price at Rs1,600 per 40kg, besides ensuring that the commodity was only bought at official rates. A farmer’s plight starts with the distribution of bardana or jute bags at official procurement centres, he added.

Agreeing with Malik, Syed Aqeel Haider, a wheat farmer from Chiniot, said this Rs35 per 40kg increase in wheat support price was “peanuts” for farmers as this would hardly cover the costs they incurred during the wheat production process.

He informed that wheat prices all over the world stood between Rs1,575-Rs1,600 per 40kg but in Pakistan, the same was not in line with inflation and production costs.

‘PARADOXICAL AGRICULTURE’

Haider said that it was about time for Pakistan to shift towards paradoxical agriculture, which was a conclusive sustainable agriculture production system developed on natural processes of soil fertility and vegetation. Adoption of this system would mitigate most of the challenges being faced by the country’s crops, he added.

“In paradoxical farming, the farmers’ costs decrease by at least 70pc; it reduces the use of fertilizer by 70pc in the first year and gradually diminishes it completely.”

He said that the current crop production system evolved without the understanding of the natural algorithm of soil fertility and vegetation.

“In developed countries where farmers moved to paradoxical farming, they are getting more than 100 mounds per acre yield from wheat crop but unfortunately in Pakistan, our per acre yield is between 20-25 mounds per acre,” he deplored.

However, Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Chairman Khalid Maqbool told this scribe that the farmers were ready to provide wheat at the rate of Rs1,400 per 40kg keeping in view the purchasing power of the population.

“But the government should ensure that flour is available for consumers at Rs40 per kg and not Rs80 per kg like previous year/months.”

He urged the government to take strict action against hoarders and profiteers so that maximum facilitation could be extended to the consumers.

“Instead of increasing the wheat support price, the government should take measures to curtail the production cost of wheat farmers,” he opined.