PESHAWAR, July 23: Some tobacco growers on Monday staged a demonstration outside the Peshawar Press Club and demanded compensation for destruction of their crops by rains and hailstorm. They also demanded increase in the rate of the crop.

The demonstration was organised by the Kisan Board Sarhad, a peasant wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami.

The farmers asked the federal government to pay Rs760 million as compensation.

The figure was recommended by the provincial government after conducting a survey for growers’ losses in five districts, Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Buner and Mansehra, in 2003.

Speaking to the farmers, Abdul Akbar Khan, the chairman of the tobacco section of the Kisan Board Sarhad, said that Virginia tobacco was a cash crop of the province and the farmers totally relied upon it for their livelihood.

He claimed that the government collected Rs3,200 million annually as excise duty from the tobacco growers but did not spend a single penny on their welfare. The destruction of crops in 2003 had put the growers in deep economic crisis, he added.

Mr Akbar said that despite a protest by the farmers, multinational companies purchased tobacco on a minimum rate last year. He alleged that the government did not take notice of this exploitation of farmers and sided with the companies.

He said an MNA from Swabi, Usman Khan, raised the issue in the National Assembly and the matter was referred to the concerned standing committee. The committee, he added, had directed to the tobacco companies to pay more to the farmers, but nothing had been done yet.

This year again, he said, the companies started purchasing tobacco on July 16 on a very low rate. The amount was not even equal to the production cost of the crop, he added.

Our Swabi Correspondent adds: The tobacco growers on Monday demanded increase in the rate of their crops. The existing prices of the crop had pushed the growers into financial bankruptcy, they said, adding that if the situation would continue, they would switch over to some other source of livelihood.

The purchasing of Virginia tobacco has started on July 18 across the district at various tobacco purchasing centres.

A total of 45 tobacco purchasing companies have announced their quota through the Pakistan Tobacco Board but most of them are not directly buying tobacco from the growers.