LAHORE, April 30: Talks between the Department of Plant Protection and pesticide importers failed on Sunday, thus keeping the imports suspended and putting a question mark over the fate of cotton and rice crops. The farmers claimed that cotton sowing was being delayed owing to uncertainty about the supply of pesticides and substantial dip in wheat prices.

They said sowing should have started in 13 core districts of the cotton belt. With wheat prices sliding and no one knowing the pest-controlling drugs’ situation, the sowing was being delayed beyond reasonable timeframe.

“The government officials have been refusing to budge from their position,” said one of the participants in talks. He said they were not ready to stop discrimination against the local importers of pesticides.

The local importers had been demanding a level playing-field and uniformity of rules for them and multinationals, which the government officials were not ready to provide. Nor was any government functionary ready to explain his point of view.

Most of the import of pesticides was being ruled by SROs which only provided clues and left enough confusion to be exploited by those who wanted to do it. The government, instead of forming a long-term policy and clarifying rules, had been resorting to ad hoc measures and hurting the economy and businesses in the country.

“There is no sense in having two separate rules for local and foreign companies and then try to squeeze the local people,” he regretted.

“These businessmen may be able to survive a season or two without importing pesticides and making profits, but farmers would never be able to absorb this kind of shock,” according to Ms Rabia Sultan — a farmers’ representative from southern part of Punjab. She said big businesses and farmers could withstand the fiscal loss but not the small growers who provided bulk of cotton and rice, forming 87 per cent of the farming community, she said.

Even big farmers now had started reconsidering their crops as no one knew what would be pesticide position, she said and added: “It also shows official policy and priorities for agriculture. The government officials know that timing of pesticides is as crucial as their availability.

“Even if the local importers start importing pesticides after few weeks, the farmers would already have suffered the blow. The government must move quickly to solve the problem.”

A pesticide trader said it was high time that the government realised that the private markets quickly responded to speculative pressures. The mere decision of local importers to suspend imports would create so much psychological pressure on farmers that they would not be able to bear it, he said.—Staff Reporter