Fixing wheat support price

From the Newspaper Published October 31, 2012

PAKISTAN is an agricultural state, thus agriculture is the mainstay of the country’s economy. Its significance is manifold as it provides food to the people, raw materials to industry and is a base for earning foreign exchange through foreign trade.

Wheat is the most important staple crop of the country. Although sown on a large area, there have been crises of short crop in the country whenever the support prices fixed were not considered profitable by the farmers. Also, the burgeoning cost of inputs had compelled the farmers to cultivate and produce for self-consumption rather than the nation.

Such food scarcity had resulted in food inflation in the past. As a result thereof, the government was compelled to import wheat for meeting domestic needs and to cover the shortage on which a huge amount of foreign exchange was spent.

In a major incentive to the agricultural sector and to achieve food security in the country, the federal government had fixed minimum guaranteed price for wheat crop 2009 at Rs950 per 40kg in September 2008 from earlier Rs625 per 40kg. This increase in minimum guaranteed price led to a bumper wheat crop of 24 million tons that year or three million tons more than the preceding year.

As an increase in the amount, the government paid farmers for wheat, a bigger planted area, while abundant rains, new varieties and subsidised fertilisers contributed to the rise in wheat output.

The minimum support price fixed in September 2008 was revised to Rs1,050 per 40kg in October 2011, i.e., after three years. According to the media reports, there has been phenomenal increase in wheat price in international market.

Also, wheat cost production has highly increased and the prevailing support price of Rs1,050 per 40kg is not appropriate. Wheat sowing season is fast approaching in the country, especially in Sindh, while support price for 2013 crop has not been announced so far.

It is, therefore, time to fix the support price for wheat crop 2013. This will help attract and encourage growers to sow wheat on time. If the government failed to fix/announce the support price, the farmers might not sow wheat grain and go to alternate crops which fetch more price than wheat.

KHAN FARAZ Peshawar

Newspaper

No point blaming external factors

FBR deadline

Vaccine awareness

farmerdr

Oct 31, 2012 05:21pm

As farmer I have to plan crops in advance and allocate land and fertilizer accordingly. It is already too late for me to increase my Wheat acreage which will be reduced from last year. I reduced it as the profit margin from the harvest this year was low because support price as not met. In the light of numerous bad experiences I try to steer well clear of all official advice and government related schemes, services or promises. These only work for influential or corrupt or influential and corrupt farmers.

Recommend 0

Cyrus Howell

Oct 31, 2012 07:29am

Hope the government is listening. Money is the only incentive to produce more grain, and Pakistan should not, and does not, need to be dependent on the foreign market. The problem with Pakistan is the right hand never knows what the left hand is doing.

Recommend 0

Branded Content

OMODA & JAECOO Nishat celebrates 15,000 units as JAECOO J7 marks first anniversary with a Special Beige Interior Edition

The achievement builds on the brand’s earlier milestone of 10,000 locally assembled units, reached just eight months after the first locally assembled vehicle was delivered in December 2025.