LAHORE: Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) has urged the provincial government to form a high-powered commission to investigate the substantial financial losses suffered by wheat farmers due to low market prices that failed to cover production costs.
If our demands are not met in three days, we will hold protest across the province, farmer leaders warned while addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Friday.
The farmers' body estimates that the total losses incurred by wheat growers amount to approximately Rs2,200 billion and has warned that the national economy has also been negatively affected by unchecked wheat imports that further suppressed local prices.
The organisation demanded the immediate dissolution of the Food Safety & Consumer Protection (FS&CP) Department, (formerly Food
Department) and the removal of all senior officials, including the Special Assistant, Secretary, DG and other officers concerned.
PKI President Khalid Khokhar alleged that instead of supporting farmers, during the ongoing season, food officials have been seizing wheat stocks stored by farmers at their homes for personal and household consumption throughout the year.
He proposed the formation of a committee headed by Punjab Assembly Speaker to hold direct negotiations with the provincial government.
Khokhar criticised the provincial government’s approach to wheat procurement, pointing out that not a single grain has been purchased from farmers so far, even though nearly 80 percent of the wheat crop has already been harvested across the province. He added that the Food Department also failed to make necessary arrangements for procurement this season.
He further stated that Punjab govt has repeatedly taken decisions that are against the interests of farmers, particularly by fixing the official price of wheat at levels lower than the cost of production. Such pricing policies have resulted in heavy financial losses for already struggling farmers.
In addition, he said, the authorities have launched a crackdown to confiscate wheat from growers, which is highly deplorable.
These measures restrict farmers’ access to the open market and deliberately keep the price of their commodity low, preventing them from recovering their expenses or earning a reasonable profit.
PKI called for transparent policies, timely procurement, and market-based pricing mechanisms that reflect actual production costs and allow farmers to sustain their operations.
