LAHORE: Farmer leader Khalid Khokhar has urged the government to make agriculture and food security the top priorities in the upcoming federal budget and warned that the national food security is at serious risk.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr Khokhar said that Pakistan spends far less on agriculture than countries such as China, Brazil, India, Australia, South Korea and Canada, despite being one of the world’s leading agricultural producers. He noted that Pakistan ranks seventh in wheat production, ninth in rice, fourth in cotton, first in kinnow and sixth in onion production, yet farmers continue to receive little support or incentives.

Criticising the government’s agricultural policies, he said Pakistan was increasingly relying on imports despite being an agricultural country, with agricultural imports reaching $8-10 billion annually. He claimed that 80 percent of wheat growers in south Punjab were forced to sell their crop at lower prices due to the failure of the Punjab government’s wheat procurement policy. He also claimed that corruption persisted despite official directives against it and accused power distribution companies of overcharging farmers.

He urged policymakers to include agricultural stakeholders in budget consultations and called for the establishment of a price commission similar to those operating in other countries.

The farmer leader said Pakistan was the only country imposing an 18pc General Sales Tax on oil cake and cottonseed products, while agriculture faced stringent conditions linked to international financial commitments. He also criticised frequent changes in agricultural leadership, noting that 15 secretaries had headed the food security ministry over the past four to five years.

Mr Khokhar warned that farmers in Punjab had already increased sugarcane cultivation by around 25pc this year, a trend that could further affect crop patterns. He welcomed efforts under the Green Pakistan Initiative to bring uncultivated land into production, saying private-sector investment in developing land in Cholistan was a positive step, provided irrigation canals were extended to support cultivation.

He called on the government to place food security and agricultural development at the centre of its budget strategy.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2026