RAWALPINDI, June 15: Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind has said Balochistan should be given budgetary share on the basis of its area and backwardness of its people.

He was answering questions at a Meet-the-press programme at the Rawalpindi Press Club on Tuesday. He said area-wise Balochistan was the largest province and its people were the poorest. But funds are allocated to provinces on the basis of population, he added.

The minister said all successive governments in the country had ignored the province. He was also not satisfied with the share given to his province in the budget 2004-05, adding that the allocations had again been made under the old formula.

"The present government, however, is taking steps to bring Balochistan on a par with other provinces," he said. To a question, he said about 90 per cent of the population in Balochistan was dependent on agricultural products whereas 64 per cent were directly or indirectly associated with agriculture.

They have no alternative employment opportunities, he said. He underlined the need for arranging special courses on agriculture for the farmers to make them aware of the field.

In reply to another question, he said no province could ban inter-provincial movement of wheat. If necessary, he added, the cabinet could impose such restrictions. Controlling prices is the responsibility of provincial and district governments, he added.

He said the increase in flour prices was aimed at providing more profit to farmers to encourage them increase production. He said the government was unable to provide subsidy to farmers or bring down prices of fertilizer and seed due to resource constraints.

About the increase in meat prices, he said it was due to the ongoing smuggling of livestock. He said the interior ministry had been written about the problem, but no response had been received. He stressed on increasing livestock production which, he said, was about 32 per cent of the GDP.