December 16, 2002	Monday	Shawwal 11, 1423

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MULTAN, Dec 15: Farmers have demanded that the support price of wheat be fixed at Rs400 per maund in the wake of the high cost of production.

The demand was made at a convention organized by the Farmers’ Associates of Pakistan at Makhdoom Rasheed Town of Multan Saddar Tehsil on Saturday. Some 2,000 growers were present on the occasion. FAP chairman MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi, former chief minister of Balochistan Taj Jamali, MPA Malik Arshad Raan and Mango Growers Association president Syed Zahid Gardezi were also there.

In his key-note address, the FAP chief said nobody would pay heed to the woes of farmers until they united to struggle for their rights. The privileged class had never voluntarily given rights to the voiceless majority, he said.

He said though agriculture was the mainstay of country’s fragile economy, successive governments had adopted anti-grower policies, which had caused a negative growth rate in this sector.

He said the low returns on farm outputs were due to marketing flaws. The world was fast globalizing and under the WTO regime, the public sector could hardly play any role in the marketing of commodities. He said poverty could only be eradicated by improving the social and economic condition of the farming community.

The convention unanimously adopted resolutions demanding increase in the support price for wheat, withdrawal of GST on farm inputs like fertilisers and pesticides, restoration of flat rates for power for farm tubewells and imposition of taxes only on 12.5 acres and above.

CCMG: Wide-ranging issues relating to agriculture in the province were discussed here during a meeting of the cotton crop management group.

The CCMG is mandated to deliberate upon the matters concerning to the cotton crop, but owing to its satisfactory reports the group’s meeting discussed other crops as well, including wheat and edible oil.

Provincial agriculture secretary Junaid Iqbal chaired the meeting which was attended, besides the provincial heads of the various wings of the Agriculture Department, by district officers (Agriculture) or their deputies belonging to 32 of the 34 districts in the province.

The participants reportedly expressed satisfaction over the prevailing conditions on cotton front especially with regard to the prices of phutti (seed cotton) and production which was so far better despite the reduction in cotton-sowing area this year as compared to the previous year.

Some of the participants raised the issue of expected shortage of cotton seed for the next sowing season due to a variety of reasons, including the ongoing tenants’ protest of Peerowal farms of the Punjab Seed Corporation. To bridge the demand-supply gap, the government should allow the sale of unauthorized/unregistered seed for an interim period, they urged.

Sources said most of the participants were opposed to the suggestion and pointed out that the proposed step would serve no purpose except to encourage the cotton seed mafia.

Mr Iqbal also dispelled the impression that there would be any shortage of quality registered seed in the next cotton sowing season. Marketing laws regarding pesticides sale, contamination and standardization were the other issues came under discussion on cotton front.

Most of the participants were in favour of the GST withdrawal on farm inputs. Convener of the CCMG’s marketing committee Khawaja Shoaib reportedly proposed a cess on seed certification and reward to cotton breeders to stop pre-mature sowing of varieties under trial in research centres.

The meeting expressed satisfaction over the reports from almost all the districts that wheat sowing targets had not only been achieved, but it was also being expected that the targets would be surpassed.

However, it was stressed that the government should ensure the support price of Rs300 per 40 kg to growers. Some of the participants opined that the support price should be increased in the light of high cost of production.