MULTAN: The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) held a protest demonstration outside the local press club here on Wednesday to press the government to resolve their issues.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government over what they said its anti-farmer policies besides burning the electricity bills.

They declared that they would not pay electricity bills unless the government withdrew its decision on taxes.

They said the PKI had continuously been requesting the government for reducing the input prices especially that of fertilisers [urea and DAP], pesticides, diesel and electricity, but to no avail.

“The government has made a very minor increase in support price of wheat and seems reluctant to announce support price of cotton or any other subsidy on damaged crops like maize and rice on the pretest of IMF pressure,” one of the protesters said.

“It is beyond comprehension that the IMF is not objecting to the subsidy for textile, sugar and fertiliser sectors and opposes support to growers.”

The farmers demanded withdrawal of fuel price adjustment from agriculture tubewell connections, fixing support price of wheat at Rs1,500 per 40 kilogram, indicative price of sugarcane at Rs250, reducing fertiliser prices especially urea and DAP by Rs1,000 each bag, announcing grower-friendly cotton policy before start of sowing season and compensations for rice, maize and cotton growers immediately, increase in cotton import duty by 15 per cent to save local growers and ginners.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2019