The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly’s Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) committee has recommended the federal government to grant crop status to the province’s major agriculture product, tobacco.
The sources said that the federal government provides KP with just Rs220 million out of Rs1.6 billion for tobacco cess, which is an “injustice” to the province.
Sardar Hussain Babak, parliamentary leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) in KP assembly said that the province is producing 78 per cent tobacco of the country. He further added that the province is producing 100 per cent export quality tobacco but unfortunately till date tobacco cultivation has not been provided crop status.
Babak said that the IPC committee has collected recommendations from all stakeholders and it will now be discussed in the meeting of Council of Common Interest (CCI).
The ANP leader added that the IPC committee will also review the rates received by farmers as well as all the expenses incurred on tobacco cultivation so that the farmers could be protected from loss by selling their crop on the government stipulated rates.
Babak said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rich in natural resources and every effort will be made to protect the province’s rights against the central government. The committee directed the law department to provide guidance in this regard in a constitutional context.
The committee said that the national and multinational companies tobacco board, department of agriculture and other concerned agencies should establish close liaison in this regard so that farmers can be guided in a timely manner and they do not face difficulties in cultivating tobacco crop.
The committee also directed that pesticides should not be used on crops without consulting the agriculture department as many pesticides are not only harmful to health but also have negative impacts on the environment.
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