LAHORE, April 16: For the first time after the green revolution of the mid-sixties, the country has gone back into a subsidy regime, says Federal Agriculture, Food and Livestock Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan.

Addressing a pre-budget seminar here on Monday, organised by the AgriForum, he said though all ills of the sector could not be corrected in one go, the government had, however, initiated a much-needed subsidy process.

It granted Rs13 billion subsidy on fertiliser and was determined to continue with it in future too, he said.

“It has become possible only as the government has got a much-needed fiscal space and is now facilitating farmers.”

About prices of the agricultural commodities, he said they were stabilising around world prices and the government did not have to intervene in this regard except for few crops.

Giving an example of cotton crop, he said it had equalised with the international price and the government did not interfere. The same situation would soon be achieved for other crops as well.

He said farmers had put forth concrete suggestions about rates of electricity, mark-up and agriculture inputs. All of them would certainly be considered in the next budget.

Mr Bosan asked Punjab Agriculture Minister Arshad Khan Lodhi to call a meeting of all farmers’ bodies to firm up suggestions so that a united stand could be taken at the centre when it comes to budget proposals.

Earlier, farmers pleaded for construction of new dams, particularly Kalabagh dam, so that sufficient irrigation water could be made available to them. Otherwise, the country would run the risk of falling below the water poverty line within the next few years.

A representative of farmers said they used around 1.25 billion litre diesel every year, which cost them at Rs50 billion. The government should bring its price down to Rs25 per litre in order to facilitate farmers.

He said the price of DAP was around Rs1,060 per bag when the government had announced subsidy on it.

“It has again gone up to Rs1,060 in spite of the subsidy due to rise in international prices.”

He said local manufacturers, following importers, had also increased prices without any reason. The government should bring the prices down to Rs850 per bag. Similarly, the price of urea should not be allowed to go beyond Rs450 per bag.

Criticising the recent 10 per cent increase in power charges, he said, farmers consumed Rs30 billion worth of electricity in running tubewells. With the increase, the government suddenly burdened farmers with Rs3 billion. It must be brought down in the next budget.

He said credit and its cost had become one of the biggest problems during the last few years.

“The government must ensure provision of at least Rs300 billion as credit and that too at a service charge of eight to 10 per cent.”

He said periodic increases in price of agriculture implements had also taken them out of most of the farmers’ reach. A smaller tractor should not cost more than Rs250,000 and a bigger one than Rs500,000.

Omer Sultan Cheema suggested that the government should create testing laboratories at district level so that spurious drugs and fertilisers could be checked at local level.

Mr Cheema said if the government could not check high increases in prices, it should at least ensure quality of the product.

“Of late, fake fertilisers and pesticides have become the biggest bane of farmers.”

Farooq Bajwa was of the opinion that the government should come up with a package to promote agri-industry in rural areas and it must be given a 20-year tax holiday.

If industry at Gawadar could be given such facilitation, why can’t agri-industry get such a facility, Mr Bajwa said.