MULTAN, Oct 11: The farming community has started purchasing DAP on a large-scale after the government restored its old price and because they said they were not sure about the future market.

The farmers representatives appreciated the government for timely restoring the old price of DAP fertiliser and hopes it would help achieve the wheat target in the country.

They also demanded action against the fertiliser companies that were found manipulating the market in favour of hoarders and profiteers. President Kissan Board Bosan Town Ijaz Rijwana said that the wheat sowing could be successfully completed if the DAP price remains stable for a month.

A progressive farmer from Layyah Malik Manzoor Jota said that the decision to increase the DAP price had depressed the farmers and a large number of them had decided not to cultivate wheat. Application of the fertiliser improves the crop by 50 per cent.

He said that the price of DAP was already high and farmers were avoiding its application by exploring the possibility of switching over to some other crops.

He said that although the government had announced that the DAP would be sold at Rs3,050 per 50 kg bag, the profiteers mafia was active and they were selling a bag at Rs3,400 in district Layyah.

Khawaja Muhammad Shoji of Farmers Vision Forum said that it was total failure of the government institutions that fertiliser companies had increased the price of a subsidised commodity on their own.

He said that by increasing the price of DAP these companies, on one hand, had strengthened the profiteers and hoarders, while on other they had demoralised and discouraged the farming community.

He said that the behaviour of these companies had forced the government to bow to their demands. He maintained that if the government failed to exert itself, the instability in the fertiliser market will persist that could harm the rural economy of the country.

Mr Shoaib said that besides the fertiliser companies some pesticide firms also used the same tactics by spreading misinformation to exploit the farmers and it was the time that the government should take strict action against these elements.

He said that the fertiliser companies had huge stocks of DAP that would be sufficient to meet the needs of the wheat crop, while the purpose behind increasing the DAP price was to take the benefit of the revised wheat procurement price announced by the government.