Farmers Threaten Protest over Wheat Procurement Policy

Farmers in Pakistan are planning to stage a protest outside Parliament House on September 25, demanding that the government implement policies to support their livelihoods. Khalid Hussain Batth, Chairman of Kisan Ittehad Central, and Nawab Zubair Talpur, representative of Sindh Abadgar Ittehad, made these demands at a press conference in Karachi.

The farmers are seeking a wheat procurement policy, which would allow them to sell their crop at a fair price. Currently, they claim that they have been forced to sell wheat below its production cost for the past three years, resulting in losses and discouraging cultivation.

As a result, Pakistan has had to import 750,000 metric tons of wheat at an estimated international cost of around USD380 million. The farmers demand a price that would provide them with a 20 per cent profit margin, which they claim is currently around Rs4,500 per 40kg.

They also demanded relief on diesel prices for the agriculture sector and reductions in the costs of fertilisers, pesticides, and electricity. On sugarcane, they sought payment of outstanding dues to growers and a minimum support price of Rs650 per 40kg for the coming season.