Lahore: The farming community has expressed strong displeasure over the Punjab government’s announcement to purchase wheat at Rs 3500 per maund. Central Chairman Kisan Ittehad Khalid Hussain Bath said that this rate is in no way acceptable to farmers, because in the current economic conditions, this price is not in line with the costs.
According to Khalid Hussain Bath, the rates of fertilizer, diesel, electricity and agricultural machinery have increased dramatically, due to which the costs of land preparation, cultivation, irrigation and harvesting have doubled. He said that if the government really wants to adopt a farmer-friendly policy, then the price of wheat should be fixed at least Rs 4500 to Rs 5000 per maund.
He also criticized the farmer schemes of the Maryam Nawaz government and said that the Kisan Card, free tractors and fertilizer schemes are limited to papers only, while corruption and fake fertilizers and seeds have broken the backs of farmers.
The Chairman Kisan Ittehad warned that unless the government fixes the wheat rate according to the cost, farmers will not cultivate wheat. He said that farmers have been continuously suffering losses for the last three years and if the situation continues like this, there may be a significant decrease in wheat production next year and a food crisis in the country.
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