LAHORE: In a bid to provide relief to farmers amid ongoing tensions with the flour milling sector, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has approved a wheat support subsidy of Rs5,000 per acre for 600,000 farmers under the Kissan Card programme.
Chairing a high-level meeting, the chief minister stated that even those without Kissan Cards would receive the subsidy, reaffirming her government’s commitment to supporting agricultural producers through direct financial assistance.
Officials briefed the meeting that so far, farmers have utilised Rs36 billion through Kissan Cards to purchase agricultural inputs, while Rs22 billion in loans have already been repaid. The second installment of the support programme for the new crop cycle has also been disbursed.
The meeting was informed that 50% of applications under the wheat support scheme have been verified, and efforts are underway to expand outreach. Proposals to include contractors, in addition to landowners, under the scheme are also under consideration.
Separately, the CM reviewed proposals for the solarisation of agricultural tubewells as part of a wider strategy to reduce input costs and improve farm sustainability.
The support programme comes at a time when the provincial government’s wheat procurement policies are facing strong resistance from the flour milling industry and farmers alike. Last month, the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) warned that the new mandate requiring flour mills to stock wheat equal to 25% of their grinding capacity was “financially unviable” and risked shutting down large segments of the industry.
Meanwhile, farmers have orchestrated protests across the province at the non-intervention of the government, causing wheat prices to go as low as Rs 2,200 per 40 kg.
With only 55–60% of Punjab’s 1,150 mills currently operational, PFMA leaders have already urged the government to avoid punitive measures and instead support both growers and processors with coordinated, financially viable policies.
By simultaneously offering direct support to farmers and pursuing enforcement against millers, the provincial administration is now walking a tightrope between promoting farm incomes and ensuring smooth flour supply chains.
Whether this wheat support package will ease mounting tensions or deepen policy contradictions remains to be seen, as stakeholders on both sides wait for clarity on the implementation of Punjab’s broader wheat and food security strategy.
