ISLAMABAD, May 20: Farmers in southern Punjab are not getting the Rs415 per 40kg minimum price announced by the government for the procurement of wheat amid allegations of kickbacks and commissions by food department officials and exploitation by landlords.

Sources at the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal) told Dawn that the farmers in the Seraiki belt of Punjab, including Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajhanpur, Layyah, Muzzafargarh and Bhakkar, had been compelled to sell their wheat at Rs370-380 per 40kg to the provincial food departments concerned.

They said Minfal had also asked the Punjab food department to resolve the issue and save the farmers from the cartel of landlords, businessmen and food inspectors. However, no action has so far been taken by the provincial government.

The Taunsa food centre has been awarded a procurement quota of 0.22 million tons. However, instead of buying wheat from the local farmers, the centre has started procuring wheat from big landlords hailing from Shah Sadar Din, Shadan Lund and D.G. Khan.

The sources said the centre was buying wheat from the local farmers at Rs370 per 40kg, as the latter have no other choice but to accept this price to repay the loans they had taken during the sowing season for various inputs.

Asmatullah Wasim Wagha, a spokesman for the Daman Development Organisation and the Sustainable Agriculture Action Group (SAAG) — the organisations working for the protection of farmers rights in Punjab — told Dawn that the food inspectors were openly taking Rs10 as commission on each bag of 100kg from the farmers.

Besides, the farmers have to provide 2kg wheat extra on each 100kg bag. The food departments are taking the extra wheat as compensation for the losses caused during the transportation of the commodity.

Mr Wagha said bags were being provided by the food departments, however, farmers had to provide Rs5,000 as a guarantee in advance for taking 100 bags. The guarantee amounts were never paid back to the farmers. He pointed out that food department officials took signs from the farmers on papers which said that the farmers had no money due to the procurement centres.

He said the farmers had also witnessed the food department labourers taking out wheat from the bags and stuffing the bags with sand. He said nobody checked the bags when they were transferred to government’s godowns from the food procurement centres. The wheat, which was taken out of the bags, was allegedly sold by the food department officials and the money went to their pockets.

In the last meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), Planning Commission deputy chairman Dr Akram Shaikh had warned that the country was heading towards a wheat crisis after sugar, as the government had not released its stocks. Now, it seems the deputy chairman’s prediction is proving right: farmers are not getting the required money for their wheat.

Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan announced the minimum procurement price last month.