Farmers receive a subsidy of Rs 24,700 per acre for the purchase of urea and DAP fertilizer.
KARACHI:
The Sindh government has asked the Center to announce a nationwide support price for wheat to safeguard the interests of farmers who are facing increasing financial pressure.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Sindh Agriculture Minister Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar said that under conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), provincial governments are not allowed to fix support prices independently without a directive from the Centre.
“Farmers are under huge pressure because the support price of wheat is yet to be fixed,” he said, urging the federal government to announce a minimum support price of Rs 4,200 per maund (40 kg) without further delay.
The minister said that the Central Executive Committee of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also demanded fixing of wheat price in its meeting the previous day. He warned that if farmers were not assured of a reasonable yield, many could abandon wheat cultivation and switch to other crops, potentially triggering a food crisis in the country.
Highlighting Sindh’s efforts to support the farming community, Sardar Mahar said the provincial government has launched a Rs 56,000-crore Wheat Farmers Support Programme, under which farmers receive a subsidy of Rs 24,700 per acre for the purchase of urea and DAP fertilizer.
“This mechanism will benefit 411,000 farmers owning between 1 and 25 acres of land,” he said, adding that 132,601 farmers have already been registered, while the registration process for others is underway.
He further informed that Sindh has also allocated an additional Rs 8,000 crore for small farmers and haris under the Hari Card scheme. The minister said distribution of 52,993 new Hari cards through Sindh Bank branches across the province is underway.
Sardar Mahar clarified that the Hari Card scheme is completely independent of the Rs 56,000 crore wheat support package.
He further stated that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has issued special directives to ensure maximum relief and facilities to the farmers of Sindh.
