Pakistan farmers union rejects Punjab government Rs 15B wheat support package – JURIST
The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI), a leading farmers’ body, strongly rejected the Punjab government’s recently announced Rs15 billion ($17,609) wheat support package, terming it insufficient and ill-conceived on Sunday. PKI President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, addressing a press conference in Multan, called for a guaranteed support price instead to shield farmers from mounting financial losses.
“We don’t need charity; we need fair compensation,” Khokhar declared, expressing deep dissatisfaction with the government’s relief measures. He warned that unless urgent reforms are introduced, farmers may refuse to sow wheat in the coming season. “Farmers cultivated wheat on the request of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, but now no one is listening to their plight.”
The Rs15 billion package, which includes direct transfers through the Kisan Card, a four-month free storage facility under the Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) system, and exemption from irrigation tax, has been criticised for failing to address ground realities. “This subsidy is a joke. Each of the 5.5 million farmers in Punjab will only receive a few thousand rupees — that is no relief,” Khokhar said.
The PKI president emphasised the need for a fair procurement price that includes a 25 percent profit margin above the cost of production, citing expert recommendations. “A guaranteed support price would provide stability and encourage future cultivation. But this package benefits middlemen, flour mills, and warehouse owners more than the farmers.”
Other farmer leaders echoed similar sentiments. Chaudhry Rizwan of PKI claimed the EWR scheme would primarily help large brokers and stockists, to which Khalid Mahmood Khokhar added that ordinary farmers lack the financial means to store wheat and wait for favourable market prices. He said that the capitalists can hoard, but small farmers are being crushed.
Khokhar also expressed concern over the growing mental health burden on farmers, warning of rising emotional distress due to neglect. He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir to intervene, stressing that food security for 250 million people is at stake.
The PKI announced a farmers’ meeting in Lahore in the coming days to discuss a potential protest march, as pressure mounts on the Punjab government to revise its approach to agricultural policy.
