I HAVE noticed that the government raises the price of diesel routinely during the months when the farmers plough their field or are busy in harvesting. This is when a farmer buys diesel. In between, fuel prices are kept low to make it appear that the overall cost of the crop would be low.

However, the fact is that the poor farmer has already been robbed when he has paid the higher price of diesel during the sowing season and that cost stands locked into the crop. So between the ploughing and the harvesting phases, the price stays low, keeping the projected sale price of the crop low. As soon as harvesting starts, the price of diesel is driven up. Once again, while the farmers pay extra, the selling price of the crop stands locked at the old price.

No one remembers that the poor farmer had paid a premium to plough his field and then to harvest it, and finally has to sell the produce at a price which does not account for the higher price of fuel in selective, or rather targeted phases.

At first, I thought this was a coincidence, but then I saw this happening repeatedly, which forced me to change my mind. Being a farmer and a victim of these tactics by the government, I now think that this is done on purpose to rob the poor farmers of their hard-earned profit margins. This is a very evil approach, though I have to concede that it has been very cleverly planned.

Ali Kuli Aminuddin
Lahore

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2022