SHIKARPUR, Nov 28: Growers and rice millers have criticised the paddy procurement policy of the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Supply Corporation and said that growers are compelled to sell paddy at lower rate as Passco is yet to start procurement.

Speaking at press conference here on Friday, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture vice-president Agha Nasrullah Pathan, Sindh Abadgar Board leader Abdul Nabi Brohi and rice millers’ representative Seth Pokardas , said that 30 days had passed but the Passco had not started to purchase paddy Irri-6 according to its commitment, hence growers were facing crises in district Shikarpur and other parts of Sindh.

They said that Passco management had neither signed agreements with the rice millers nor finalised other arrangements to purchase paddy at its procurement centres set up at four particular rice mills in Shikarpur district which they termed a fraud with the growers in purchase of paddy.

The growers and the millers rejected the lame excuse of purchasing fine quality Irri with three per cent of broken rice when it was almost impossible to make such a quality.The growers’ leaders complained that the federal government had imposed a ban on cultivation of Super Basmati paddy in Sindh and Balochistan which they termed an act to discourage agricultural Sector in Sindh while giving of monopoly to the growers of Punjab to cultivate this variety of rice.

They complained that Passco was not purchasing Super Basmati paddy and Basmati rice while purchasing Basmati rice from Punjab only.

The growers and the millers advised Passco to purchase rice from the grain merchants and the rice mills at then reasonable price of Rs1200 to Rs1400 per 40kg instead of purchasing paddy.

They also urged the government to formulate a policy of fixing the paddy rates after analysing the inputs and outputs of the agriculture sector which was facing the unbearable problem of price hike of seeds, fertiliser, fuel oil, tractor charges, pesticides, transport and labour charges.

The growers demanded restoration of previous export policy under which rice export was open for traders and the growers.

They opposed the proposed agricultural income tax and said there was no need to levy fresh tax when they were already paying directly and indirectly agricultural taxes in the form of revenue tax, abyana and other taxes and demanded to exempt growers from the agriculture tax.