LAHORE: The Pakistan Kissan Itehad (PKI) in a press release viewed that in major cities, the price of wheat has reached Rs 5,000 per 40kg in the first week of May. This is a concerning situation, especially considering that the district administration is making raids to obtain harvested wheat from farmers.
Through this release they draw the attention of the government to the current state of the wheat industry in the country. It stated that farmers are not even allowed to save wheat for their own use or for their farm labour or seed purposes. The Food Department and the District administration are desperate to achieve their procurement targets, to the extent that they are seizing the seed and hundreds of bags of basic seed of a new variety Bhakar Starhas, whose multiplication and processing rights were purchased by a leading seed company.
It stated that despite having all the required documents and registration with the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department, the Food Department did not release the seed and instead mixed it into food grains. Release further revealed that this shows a lack of commitment, seriousness, and long-term vision for food security. The Government should focus on mafia so that common man can get wheat at the similar price throughout the year.
Not like rice, after selling its price almost doubled. By the grace of Almight Allah, this year average yields are much higher than previous years although area was less.
The Department and the government’s short-sightedness and poor governance will negatively impact the wheat production for the next year. Pakistan already has a low national average yield, and if certified seed is not available next year, the yield will further decrease.
It noted that country has not expanded its cultivable area for a long time, and the command area in major irrigation projects has not been developed due to bad governance and a non-serious attitude of governments towards agriculture. If this continues, it will be difficult to feed the growing population. Pakistan is adding a population equivalent to that of New Zealand every year, and heavy reliance on imported food commodities will be necessary.
