LAHORE: Farmers have rejected the sugarcane support price of Rs400 per maund announced by the Punjab government for the crushing season 2023-24 and demanded that it should be raised to Rs500 per maund at least.
The farmers said that this raise is essential in the wake of high prices of agricultural inputs like fertilizer, electricity, diesel, pesticides and labour charges.
The demand was raised by Kissan Board Pakistan (KBP) President Sardar Zafar Hussain during a meeting with a sugarcane growers’ delegation from the Pattoki areas on Thursday.
The delegation comprised over Chaudhry Abdul Nasir Kamboh, Haji Muhammad Ramzan, Rana Khalid Masood Khan and others.
After listening to the issues being faced by the farming community, the KBP President said it was not viable to sell the sugarcane at the government announced price due to increase in the input cost. He also asked the government to compel the sugar mills to start crushing on November 25.
He said delay in start of crushing season may also hit the wheat sowing as the fields would be occupied by the standing sugarcane crop.
Sardar Zafar Hussain further said that due to the wrong policies of the rulers, agriculture had become almost dead and the prices of agricultural inputs like electricity, fertilizers, pesticides and oil were skyrocketing. He warned that the government should accept our demands immediately otherwise the farmers would protest all over the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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