LAHORE, Feb 29: Border area farmers in southern Punjab say that the enhanced wheat support price of Rs350 per 40kg does not even meet their production cost.
According to some small or medium-scale farmers, the ideal wheat sowing season ends mid-November. But farmers in South Punjab are only able to start sowing after the deadline because of the presence of cotton on 25 to 30 per cent of land. Every day after Nov 30 costs them dearly in terms of per acre yield, they claim.
Clearing remnants of the cotton crop is costly. It requires an expenditure of around Rs300 per acre to prepare land for wheat. Since ideal weather conditions are no more there when the process starts in southern Punjab, farmers are required to use from 50kg to 60kg of seed per acre instead of the normal 40kg to 50kg.
The amount of seed can be reduced provided it is sown by drilling, but a majority of farmers refrain from doing so because of the high cost involved. Another requirement is the DAP fertilizer, the price of which increases at the rate of Rs50 per 50kg per year. In India, it is subsidized for farmers.
Because of the lightweight wheat grain, most farmers sell all their crop to meet their expenses. As a result they do not store seed for the next crop and depend on the Punjab Seed Corporation for sowing.
The farmers allege that the institution provides no help. It fulfils the needs of only 40 per cent of the farmers in Punjab, throwing the rest at the mercy of private parties that sell substandard seed and charge them at will.
The PSC sells a 100kg sack of seed at the rate of around Rs450, but the open market rate ranges between Rs1,000 and Rs1,300. The farmers claim that the government has itself admitted that its scientists have not been able to develop a new variety of wheat over the last decade. And the available varieties, Punjab and Uqab, have been rejected by most farmers. They still prefer Punjab but are forced to purchase Uqab as well, which is of inferior quality.
Last year, the wheat crop was affected by a virus called Tela and most farmers, having no money to use pesticides to kill it, suffered a great loss. After sowing, all farmers face the menace of herbs. And to eliminate them they are required to spray various herbicides, which is not easy in monetary terms. The per square cost of spraying herbicides is from Rs12,000 to 13,000.
Every wheat crop needs watering five times, but most farmers do not get so much water, especially at the tail-ends of canals and in rain-fed areas. And to fulfil the need, they run tube-wells using power or diesel. The per acre cost of running a tube-well is Rs2,000. Those who cannot afford it get a low yield.
The farmers are required to use two bags of urea after the first and third watering of their crops. And one bags costs Rs450. In a majority of areas, wheat is harvested manually and the field workers charge 120kg of wheat per acre without caring for the size of crop.
Those who supply thrashers charge three kilograms of wheat on every 40kg. And the per day salary of workers who thrash the commodity is around Rs400. The farmers claim they are left with an average of 30kg of wheat per acre after all this hassle. But their problems do not end here.
They are required to transport their wheat to government procurement centres or to buyers in the private sector. Those who cannot do this are offered a much lesser price. And those who manage to pay the transport charges have to "please" the food department officials so that they can timely unload their wheat and have it weighed properly.
The farmers suggest that the government must come to the help of growers so that they can find some incentive in the business. It must arrange a proper water supply, control the prices of seed, fertilizers or herbicides and ensure their quality, develop new varieties and save them from the highhandedness of food department officials.
