VEHARI, May 23: A three-day National Kissan Congress has urged the government to solve farmers' problems at the union council level and reduce electricity tariff and prices of diesel, seeds and pesticides to enhance production.

Besides a large number of local farmers and landlords, agriculture experts from all over the country, including Azad Kashmir, also participated in the congress organized by the ‘Plan Pakistan’ in Vehari.

The conference adopted resolutions demanding cheap farm inputs, proper marketing infrastructure, exemplary punishment to adulterators of pesticides and fertilizers, allotment of state land to people, particularly in south Punjab, and due share of water resources.

PM director Dr Iftikhar, Dr Shafqat Saeed, Bahauddin Zikaria University PRO Nazim Husain Laber, EDO (Health) Dr Jamil, DO (Agriculture) Abid Husain, and representatives of farmers addressed the participants.

Eulogizing farmers and landlords for playing an important role in the agriculture sector, speakers said the use of modern techniques in agriculture had become indispensable to increase production.

They complained that policies of successive governments had always been tilted towards the urban people.

They said that flawed policies of the government and high cost of production were discouraging local farmers which resulted in import of sugar, onion and even potato from India. Local farmers would be producing these commodities in sufficient quantity if the government had kept prices of agriculture inputs affordable, they said.

The extensive use of adulterated pesticides, they said, had become hazardous to the human health. According to reports by experts, they said one farmer died every hour from pesticide poisoning in developing countries.

Speakers said that water containing pesticides when used for drinking purpose could lead to harmful effects ranging from mild headaches to skin and other cancers.

“Indiscriminate use of insecticides is a major problem in the developing countries and this seems to be responsible for poisoning farm animals, human beings and farm ecosystems”, they said.

“The poor planning and faulty management add to huge crop losses each year”, they said.