WHAT is it that is worthless in the hands of the farmers, but becomes gold when possessed by mighty barons? Sugar, of course. A few months ago, under the pressure of sugar barons, the government allowed the export of 150,000 tonnes of the commodity. Now these barons are selling sugar at Rs180 per kilogramme, which was promised to be retained at Rs130 per kg.
This year, these very millers bought the sugarcane at prices close to Rs400 per maund, which was far lower than the production cost.
These sugar barons are very much a part of the coalition government, which has so far allowed sugar exports for the second time. In the 2023 fiscal, the government had allowed the export of 212,896 tonnes of sugar in just three months. The motive was quite obvious.
The government has failed to procure bumper wheat crops at the given prices due to flawed governance. Farmers are already under the heavy burden of uncontrollable inflation, exaggerated electricity bills, costly fuel, high rates of leased lands, unavailability of water, and environmental hazards. The production cost has outpaced the profit margins by a fair distance.
Such bad decisions are compelling farmers to rethink their crop strategies. To avoid losses, they will soon switch to short-term crops without considering the country’s requirements. Flawed policies tend to kickstart a chain of crises. They have their own domino effects.
It is the same agriculture sector that grew at 6.3 per cent, which was the highest in 19 years. Farmers grew record volumes of wheat, maize and corn. They gave a boost to livestock farming, which rescued the teetering economy, and averted the risk of default.
It will be a blunder if the government does not care about the agriculture sector. Being an agrarian economy, Pakistan has one of the world’s best food-baskets that has a variety of crops to feed 250 million people. Pakistan even exports extra food items. It is time for a prudent approach if we want to save the agriculture sector.
Chaudhary Aamir Sohail
Sargodha
Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2025
