KEY POINTS
- Kisan convention rejects Rs3,500 per 40 kg wheat support price
- Farmers decry exclusion from flood relief checks in 27 Punjab districts
- Demand for revision of wheat procurement policy and compensation mechanism
- Call for fair input cost adjustment ahead of Rabi season
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani farmers on Tuesday rejected the federal government’s recently announced wheat support price of Rs3,500 per 40 kilograms, calling it “economically unviable” amid soaring input and energy costs.
Farmers at a Kisan convention also accused authorities of denying flood-related crop damage compensation to thousands of growers across 27 districts of Punjab.
Speakers at the convention — representing multiple farmers’ associations — said the official wheat price failed to reflect the surge in fertilizer, diesel, and seed costs, leaving small and medium growers unable to recover even their basic expenses.
“A minimum rate of Rs 4,500 per 40 kg is essential if the government expects wheat self-sufficiency,” one representative said during the session, according to Business Recorder.
The convention further criticized what it called “selective and politicized disbursement” of relief checks intended for farmers affected by last year’s floods.
According to participants, thousands of eligible growers in 27 districts of Punjab have yet to receive compensation despite repeated verification drives.
Dawn quoted several representatives as saying that local administrations had “withheld checks under bureaucratic delays and arbitrary exclusions.”
Farmer leaders warned that unless the government revises the procurement policy and ensures transparent relief delivery, the wheat cultivation target for the upcoming Rabi season could fall short, threatening food security goals outlined in the National Wheat Policy 2025.
The convention also urged provincial governments to establish district-level grievance redressal committees, revise support price formulas based on real input costs, and ensure timely fertilizer distribution ahead of sowing.
