HYDERABAD: Leaders of the Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI), while addressing a press conference at the Hyderabad Press Club, have said that the voice of farmers must reach both the federal and Sindh governments, as rising fuel prices have affected all sectors of life, with the agriculture sector being the worst-hit sector.
Nawab Zubair Talpur stated that the current diesel price stood at Rs390 per litre compared to Rs285 before the US-Iran conflict. The surge had created serious difficulties for farmers, he added.
He said growers were unable to recover their costs as they were not getting reasonable prices for their crops. He said that the price of DAP fertilizer had increased by Rs2,000 per bag and urea by Rs1,000 per bag, significantly raising cultivation costs.
At the same time, low market rates for crops were putting farmers under severe financial pressure from both ends, he lamented. The leaders warned that if the federal government did not reduce the diesel price or provide subsidies, a protest movement would be launched on April 20 from Hyderabad, followed by demonstrations in Tando Allahyar and other districts on April 26. They added that the Sindh Hari Abadgar Ittehad would also join the protests. They said the agriculture sector had long been neglected and the burden of losses was falling entirely on farmers. The recent increase in fuel prices, justified in the name of war, had made it extremely difficult for growers to cultivate land at such high cost, they added.
They claimed that Pakistan met around 70 per cent of its fuel needs through local refineries, while only 30 per cent was imported. The SAI leaders criticised the government for failing to provide relief, noting that while other countries extended subsidies during global tensions, the Pakistani government had instead increased hardships for the people.
They said that since the current government came into power, farmers had not been given fair prices for any crops, including grains, fruits and vegetables, with production costs far exceeding the returns.
They also alleged that the government was using the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions as an excuse to avoid fixing support prices, questioning how the wheat price was set at Rs3,500 if such restrictions existed. They added that the price still did not match the production cost.
Criticising the Sindh government’s announcement of Rs1,500 per acre subsidy, they termed it a mockery and challenged officials to cultivate land in that amount. The speakers also raised concerns over the widespread sale of fake seeds, fertilizer and pesticides in Sindh, saying no effective measures had been taken to curb the issue.
They added that although the federal government had reportedly banned over 400 fake companies, their names had not been made public, nor was any information available about them on official websites.
They said the closure of the Afghanistan border had severely impacted farmers, particularly orchard owners, as exports had halted. Contractors had abandoned orchards, leaving fruits to rot due to lack of market access and poor pricing, the SAI leaders lamented.
They warned against the increasing conversion of agricultural land into housing schemes, saying it was reducing cultivable land and would have serious long-term consequences. If the situation continued, they cautioned, Pakistan may face food shortage, a concern already highlighted by international organisations, including the World Bank, IMF and United Nations food agencies.
The growers put forward their demands, including restoring pre-war fuel prices, fixing wheat price at Rs4,500 per maund and cotton at Rs10,000 per maund, reopening the Afghanistan border for exports, banning construction on agricultural land, and providing priority relief and sustainable support to the agriculture sector.
