LAHORE: Farmers across Pakistan are set to launch a countrywide protest on April 13 to oppose the corporate farming model introduced under the Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI).
The protest will be organized by a coalition of farmer organizations, including the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, Anjuman Mazareen Punjab, Hari Jedojehad Committee, and the Crofter Foundation.
The rallies, which will take place in towns and public sector farms, are a response to concerns over the government’s push for large-scale corporate farming. Farmers argue that this shift threatens the livelihoods of small landowners and could displace generations of peasants from the lands they have worked for years.
Protesters will also demand an end to controversial canal construction projects in southern Punjab and call for the distribution of public sector agricultural lands among peasants.
Additionally, they are asking for a fixed wheat purchase price of Rs4,000 per 40kg during the ongoing harvesting season, and a halt to notices for tenants regarding outstanding dues amounting to millions of rupees.
While the GPI aims to improve agricultural productivity and address environmental issues through the use of modern technology and advanced farming practices, farmers fear that it will favor large corporations at the expense of traditional agricultural communities, limiting their access to resources and pushing them off their ancestral land.
